GENEVA, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The latest round of intra-Syrian peace talks wrapped up on Friday, with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura commending the progress made since negotiations kicked off last week.
"I really want to express my gratitude to the Syrian invitees for engaging with me and my colleagues in serious discussions during these last nine days," the special envoy told press.
"We did discuss procedure, which is unavoidable after ten months, but we also discussed substance," he added.
According to de Mistura, who acts as mediator between rival delegations, bilateral meetings produced an outline which will form the backbone for future rounds of talks.
"I think and believe that we have a clear agenda now in front of us," de Mistura highlighted.
This entails addressing what he called the "four baskets", which relate to key elements laid out in Security Council resolution 2254, namely the formation of a credible and inclusive governance, UN-supervised elections and the drafting of a new constitution.
The inclusion a fourth and final "basket", related to counter-terrorism issues, can be seen as a win for the Syrian government delegation, which has sought to make this controversial topic a priority in past rounds
"We have discussed the substance of all these baskets, stimulated by UN inputs. We have been able to actually see the informed positions of the parties and we have been submitting some thoughts based on previous rounds," de Mistura continued.
The special envoy lauded the fact that opposing delegations sat face-to-face in the same room at a welcome ceremony marking the start of talks on Feb 23., an event which could be seen as a sign that direct discussions are in the pipeline.
He also said that progress has made in forming a unified Syrian opposition, though more work needs to be done to achieve this.
While direct talks between Syrian government and opposition delegations have yet to happen, de Mistura reminded that this remains an objective for discussions seeking to broker a political end to the six-year conflict.
As well as incremental trust, the upkeep of a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey last December and improved humanitarian access in the war-torn country are seen as key factors if future talks are to avoid an early breakdown.
"It's not snow, it's not rain, it is not an earthquake, the non-access of humanitarian aid is caused by the conflict," de Mistura said.
"If there is a ceasefire that means there should be no reason for not giving a chance for humanitarian aid to reach everyone," he added.
For this reason, de Mistura saw past and future talks in the Kazak capital of Astana as an important factor complementing the political track in Geneva.
He also said that pending discussions with the UN Secretary-General as well as the UN Security Council next week, he hopes to reconvene with warring Syrian parties at the end of the month.
中考英语固定句式专项练习
中考必备:英语备考方案
英语故事:感恩节
七年级上册英语词汇学习:live
七年级上册英语期中考试答
英语故事:南瓜灯的传说
中考必备:听力满分诀窍
2013年八年级英语期中测试题
英语故事:感恩节的餐桌
中考英语必备:单词拼写练习题
生活中的趣味英语
七年级下册英语词汇学习:visit
中考英语固定搭配专项练习
每日一句:It's free
七年级下册英语词汇学习:garden
七年级英语词汇学习:language
英语故事:Babel, Tower of 巴别塔
七年级英语词汇学习:Where's your pen pal from?
2013七年级英语第一学期期中考试试题
中考必备:翻译填空题练习
中考英语词形变化专项练习
英语故事:Baltic Sea 波罗的海
八年级上册期中英语试测试卷
中考前一个月如何做好英语总复习
如何快速记单词的方法
英语故事:Bacon, Francis 培根 (1561——1626)
每日一句:first class ,business class,economy class
七年级下册英语词汇学习:arrive
七年级下册英语词汇学习:beginning
趣味英语:笑口常开
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |