De Mistura Calls for New Round of Syria Talks in About a Month

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura speaks during a meeting in Geneva 2016 on February 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre)
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura speaks during a meeting in Geneva 2016 on February 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre)
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De Mistura Calls for New Round of Syria Talks in About a Month

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura speaks during a meeting in Geneva 2016 on February 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre)
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura speaks during a meeting in Geneva 2016 on February 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre)

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday that he hopes to convene a new round of talks between the Syrian regime and opposition in Geneva in the coming weeks.

"I am calling on both sides to assess the situation with realism and responsibility to the people of Syria and to prepare seriously to participate in the Geneva talks," de Mistura said at the UN Security Council.

He said he intends to convene an eighth round of talks on the bloody more than six-year conflict no later than the end of October or early November.

De Mistura has already hosted seven rounds of largely unsuccessful talks in Geneva, with the fate of the head of the regime, Bashar Assad, one of the main obstacles to progress.

Syrian opposition groups and various Western powers insist that Assad must go. But he has little motivation to make concessions.

At the same time, there is a second process of negotiations in Kazakh capital Astana that has led to the establishment of multiple "de-escalation zones" that have contributed to a reduction in violence.

De Mistura said these zones should be a precursor "to a truly nationwide cease-fire" and action to provide humanitarian aid to all in need.

He stressed the opposition has "a duty to signal that it wants to speak with one voice and a common platform in genuine negotiations with the government." The regime has a duty "to genuinely negotiate with the opposition," he said.

De Mistura added both sides should show readiness to negotiate on four key issues: "credible" and "inclusive" local and central governance; a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution; UN supervised elections; and combating terrorism.

On the humanitarian front, the creation of the de-escalation zones “have had a positive impact on civilians," said Mark Lowcock, the UN's head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief.

But "we continue to receive reports of violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict," he said.



At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church

A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church

A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

At least 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday, security sources said.

Syria's interior ministry said the suicide bomber was an ISIS member. He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, the ministry added in a statement.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.

Syria's state news agency cited the health ministry as putting the preliminary casualty toll at nine dead and 13 injured.

Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

A livestream from the site by Syria's civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from within the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered church pews and masonry.

Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack.

“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he said in a post on X. “We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship ... and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.”