The UN’s Syria envoy voiced hope Tuesday that peace talks could restart next month, as US Secretary of State John Kerry said there had been “progress” in efforts to salvage an urgently-needed ceasefire, Gulf Times reported.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has struggled to keep the peace process alive amid a surge in fighting between Assad and Syrian opposition.
The fighting persisted yesterday, with regime forces seizing an opposition-held neighbourhood on the northwest outskirts of Aleppo, tightening siege of the opposition-controlled parts of the city.
Assad regime also carried out renewed barrel bomb attacks on opposition-held districts, a day after bombardments that killed at least 24 people, a monitor said.
As the bloodshed continued, de Mistura met with US Syria envoy Michael Ratney and deputy Russian foreign minister Gennady Gatilov, part of a bid to salvage diplomatic efforts to end more than five years of brutal conflict.
“Our aim is to proceed with a third round of intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August,” de Mistura told reporters after the meeting.
While de Mistura has said he would prefer to negotiate with a real ceasefire in place, he conceded that may not be realistic.
“The talks are not going to wait for improvement in Aleppo or in Damascus,” he said.
The Geneva meeting came hours after higher-level negotiations on the sidelines of an Asia summit in Laos.
The Geneva meeting came hours after higher-level negotiations on the sidelines of an Asia summit in Laos.
In Vientiane, Kerry said Washington was “making progress” with Russia on Syria co-operation following a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
AFP reported De Mistura saying that “These talks … are meant to be a credible beginning of a roadmap towards a political transition, so they need to be well-prepared”.
