The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Steffan de Mistura, stated on Wednesday, that respecting the cessation of hostilities in Syria is an essential step for restoring peace talks in Geneva.
De Mistura made the statements on Wednesday in a press conference together with Austrian Foreign Affairs Ministry Sebastian Kurz, and said that the cease-fire agreed on February 27th, has only been fulfilled 50 percent, and it must “be taken to at least 80 or 90 percent.”
De Mistura highlighted that the ceasefire is supported by the International Group of Support to Syria, an initiative of 20 countries and organizations, which met to analyze the confrontations of past few weeks in Syria, Prensa Latina reported.
’The following step is to test the commitment to peace, with the reinforcement of the cessation of hostilities,’ he said.
According to the special envoy of the United Nations, no less important is the relaunch of humanitarian aid to the victims of the five-year conflict.
De Mistura stated that nearly 250 thousand people have recently been assisted, “which is not sufficient, but constitutes an advance”.
“Depending on the progresses of the cease-fire and the distribution of humanitarian aid, we will be in a condition to announce the date of a new round of talks, without forgetting the closeness of the sacred month of the Ramadan,” he pointed out.
Representatives of the Assad regime and the Syrian opposition returned this year to the dialogue table in Geneva, although not face to face.
The process in the city of Geneva is supported by the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of last December, a route map for peace in Syria, which includes a cease-fire and a political mechanism that permits the writing of a new constitution and the celebration of elections in 18 months.
