Participants in Geneva talks yet to be defined
By Kamila Aliyeva
The United Nations and other parties to Syrian peace efforts lowered their expectations of a major breakthrough at UN-sponsored talks in Geneva, as U.S. policy on the Syrian crisis and its ties with Russia remains unclear.
The final list of participating delegations in the next round of Intra-Syrian talks in Geneva has not been formed yet, the spokesperson for UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said, RIA Novosti reported.
"Consultations on the final list of participants are underway," Sharif said.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that under UN Resolution 2254, the delegation of the Syrian government and all opposition groups, including the Moscow, Cairo, Riyadh and Astana groups, should be invited by the UN for this week’s talks in Switzerland’s Geneva.
Lavrov also underlined the importance of U.S. participation in the common efforts to establish peace and stability in the Syrian Arab Republic and expressed his hope that the new team of the U.S. State Department will actively join the Syria peace effort as soon as it is formed.
The lack of a clear U.S. position made resolving the complex issues of the six-year civil war far more complicated. It remains unclear if Trump will keep his promise to build closer ties with Russia, especially in the fight against Islamic State.
Moscow was also displeased with the fact that Moscow group of Syria’s opposition has not been invited to the Geneva talks.
"The fact that representatives of the Moscow group, namely Qadri Jamil (leader of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation) have not received invitation is regrettable," Lavrov stressed, thus sending a signal to De Mistura to draw his attention to the unacceptability of such discriminatory approach to forming the opposition’s delegation.
Meanwhile, Sharif refuses to comment on reports that the opposition in the negotiations can be represented only by a delegation formed by the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
Riyadh platform or HNC previously formed a delegation, presenting it as a unified opposition, which caused the criticism of other platforms.
Syrian opposition Front for Change and Liberation said on Sunday that it refused to participate in the Geneva talks protesting against the work of the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura.
The Front for Change and Liberation considers that de Mistura is trying to forcibly attach the number of the platforms to HNC, while the others are ignored.
The upcoming talks will focus on a new constitution, free and fair elections administered under the supervision of the United Nations, and transparent and accountable governance.
Earlier, in an interview with The Associated Press, Sharif stated that the UN special envoy began sending invitations to the peace talks in Geneva on Monday.
Previously, De Mistura said that the delegations of the opposition and the government will begin arriving in Geneva on February 20.
The UN-led intra-Syrian talks will resume in Geneva on Thursday after de Mistura broke them off almost nine months ago following several rounds that led ultimately to an escalation of violence. De Mistura earlier said the crisis in Syria may be settled this year. He explained his optimism by the fact that the ceasefire in the country, announced in December, is being observed in general.
Armed conflict continues in Syria since March 2011. Government troops are confronted by militants of different armed groups. Russia has begun airstrikes on terrorist facilities in Syria since 30 September 2015. The Russian military involvement follows an official request from President Bashar Assad to President Vladimir Putin.
The UN has repeatedly tried and failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed 300,000 and displaced 11 million since its beginning six years ago.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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