UN Envoy Expresses Disappointment with Syrian Regime over Geneva Talks Failure

UN Special Envoy to the Secretary General for Syria Staffan de Mistura. (Reuters)
UN Special Envoy to the Secretary General for Syria Staffan de Mistura. (Reuters)
TT
20

UN Envoy Expresses Disappointment with Syrian Regime over Geneva Talks Failure

UN Special Envoy to the Secretary General for Syria Staffan de Mistura. (Reuters)
UN Special Envoy to the Secretary General for Syria Staffan de Mistura. (Reuters)

United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura expressed his disappointment on Thursday with the failure of the Geneva peace talks, describing them as a big missed opportunity.

He said at the end of the talks that there may be a new round next month if new ideas can be found to encourage Bashar Assad's regime to engage.

"I will probably need to come up with new ideas, parameters, about how to move the talks forward, particularly on constitution and elections," de Mistura said, adding that plans for Geneva talks in January depended on the outcome of discussions at the UN in New York next week.

“The goal we had was to bring about real negotiations,” de Mistura told a news conference. “Let me be frank. We did not achieve, we did not achieve these negotiations. In other words, negotiations in reality did not take place.

“I would conclude by saying (it was) a big missed opportunity. A golden opportunity at the end of this year when in fact there is a clear indication by many sides that the military operations are coming to a close,” he added.

De Mistura voiced milder disappointment with the Syrian opposition, after they arrived in Geneva ruling out any future role for Assad. But he said that tough public stance had been tempered by a mature position in the closed-door discussions.

De Mistura said he was leaving Geneva for consultations in New York with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, followed by a meeting with the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

Earlier, Syrian regime negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari accused the opposition of sabotaging the latest Geneva talks.

Jaafari said Damascus did not want the talks to fail but the opposition had put down a precondition with a declaration that Assad had no role in Syria’s political transition.

De Mistura said the regime had wanted him to insist that the opposition withdraw the statement.

“That was not possible or a logical approach because to me it sounded like a precondition. The regime engaged me with only on (discussions about) terrorism. The truth is there is not one single subject they accepted except that one.”

Later on Thursday, the Syrian opposition urged from Geneva de Mistura to openly declare the sides that were responsible for the failure of the negotiations.

“The regime is challenging and undermining the international community,” said chief negotiator Nasser al-Hariri.

“We are committed to the political solution to the conflict,” he added, but warning that “the Geneva talks are on the verge of collapse and the world should mobilize to save them.”



UN Calls for 'Immediate Deescalation' in Libyan Capital

Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP
Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP
TT
20

UN Calls for 'Immediate Deescalation' in Libyan Capital

Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP
Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP

The UN mission in Libya called for "immediate deescalation", citing reports of armed forces being mobilized in the capital and its surroundings that have raised fears of renewed violence.

In mid-May, there were clashes in Tripoli between forces loyal to the government and powerful armed groups wanting to dismantle it.

In a statement published late on Wednesday on X, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said there were "increased reports of continued military build-up in and around Tripoli", AFP reported.

It said it "strongly urges all parties to refrain from using force, particularly in densely populated areas, and to avoid any actions or political rhetoric that could trigger escalation or lead to renewed clashes".

It called for all parties to "engage in good faith" in deescalation and for the "swift implementation of security arrangements" set out during efforts to end the May violence.

Those clashes left six people dead, the United Nations said.

"Forces recently deployed in Tripoli must withdraw without delay," UNSMIL said.

Libya has been gripped by conflict since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

The country remains split between Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah's UN-recognized government based in Tripoli and a rival administration based in the east.

In a TV interview on Monday, Dbeibah called for armed groups to vacate the areas under their control.

Among the sites held by armed factions are the Mitiga airport in the east of the capital, which is controlled by the powerful Radaa Force.

"Dialogue -- not violence -- remains the only viable path toward achieving lasting peace, stability in Tripoli and across Libya", the UNSMIL statement said.