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UN sets January 25 to convene talks on Syria

Saturday, 26 December 2015 5:27 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 26 December 2015 5:28 PM ]

Militants operate a home-made rocket launcher connected to a tractor in the Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood of Aleppo, northwestern Syria, December 2, 2015. (AFP photo)

The UN has announced plans to convene negotiations between the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition in Geneva on January 25 in another attempt to end the deadly crisis in the Arab country.

The office of the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said in a Saturday statement that he has “intensified efforts” toward holding the talks on the planned date.

The statement said de Mistura is seeking to bring together representatives of the Syrian government and “the broadest possible spectrum of the Syrian opposition and others,” adding that the UN envoy “counts on full cooperation of all the relevant Syrian parties in this process.”

The UN said the continuing developments on the ground in Syria should not be allowed to disrupt the process.

The statement came after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said Damascus is ready to attend “the Syrian-Syrian dialog in Geneva without any foreign interference.” He made the remark in Beijing, China, on December 24.

Muallem said the government delegation would be ready as soon as Damascus received a list of the opposition delegates due to take part in the talks and the “terrorist organizations” to be barred from the negotiations.

The UN Security Council on December 18 adopted a resolution supporting an international roadmap for a peace process in Syria. The resolution called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and the formation of a “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian” government within six months and UN-supervised “free and fair elections” within 18 months.

Foreign ministers vote during a UN Security Council meeting on Syria at the United Nations, New York, December 18, 2015. (AFP photo)

On December 23, Bouthaina Shaaban, the political and media adviser to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, said the Syrian government approves of the resolution.

The conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people since March 2011, according to the United Nations. It has also displaced nearly half of the country’s population.

“The people of Syria have suffered enough. Their tragedy is now felt throughout the region and beyond,” the statement from de Mistura’s office said.

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