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by Layal Abou Rahal with Dave Clark and Fran Blandy in Paris GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Syria’s warring sides gathered in Geneva Sunday for UN-brokered indirect peace talks as the United States and France warned the Damascus regime against trying to disrupt the fragile ceasefire. As the fifth anniversary of the violence looms, the main players in the conflict were on Monday to resume negotiations in the latest bid to end bloodshed which has killed […]
UNITED STATES, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council is expected to vote Friday on a US-Russian draft resolution endorsing the Syria ceasefire, diplomats said. The 15-member council is set to meet as of 2000 GMT to hear a report from UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and could vote on the measure at that session. The draft text obtained by AFP welcomes the truce as “a step towards a lasting ceasefire” and endorses the US-Russian agreement […]
The Syria peace talks in Geneva struggled to continue into a second day as the Syrian government did not accept opposition’s precondition for official negotiation. The United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, was scheduled to meet with the Syrian main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation for the second time on Tuesday afternoon at the UN headquarters in Geneva. But the meeting was canceled after the Syrian government denied the opposition’s […]
On the eve of the first Syrian peace talks in two years, the UN Syria envoy made an emotional plea on Thursday (January 28) for a peaceful resolution to the bloody and bitter five-year-long war. However, earlier on Thursday the Syrian opposition said it will not attend peace talks due to begin in Geneva on Friday (January 29), derailing the first attempt in two years to hold negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. An opposition […]
With a new round of Syrian peace talks scheduled to begin on Friday in Geneva, analysts offered opinions on what the Syrian government and the opposition seek to achieve. The chief goal of the delegation of the current Syrian government led by Bashar Ja’afari, permanent representative of Syria to the UN, is to address terrorism, according to some analysts. “I think what the Syrian government prioritizes is to combat all kinds of terrorist groups, those […]
Amateur videos posted to social media websites purported to show air strikes on rebel positions in Homs province of Syria on Wednesday (January 27), as well as intense fighting for control of the strategic town of Sheikh Maskin. Fighting raged as plans to hold the first negotiations to end the civil war in Syria for two years were in doubt. The main Syrian opposition group said on Wednesday that they would not show up for […]
The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition said on Tuesday (January 26) that they would only take part in the Geneva peace talks this week if certain humanitarian issues in the war-torn country were addressed. The group said they would decide on Wednesday (January 27) whether they would take part in the talks, saying it welcomed an invitation to the negotiations but was seeking clarifications from the United Nations. The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), which groups arm political […]
Political analysts in the Middle East have voiced fears this week that the severing of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran could threaten the stability of the region. Following Saudi Arabia’s lead, more Gulf nations have either severed diplomatic relations with Iran or recalled ambassadors as the dispute spreads across the Middle East. “Saudi Arabia and Iran have a great impact on regional affairs, especially on issues with Yemen in the last two years. […]
Saudi Arabia signaled on Tuesday (January 6) that the breach in its relations with Iran would not affect talks on Syria, another round of which is scheduled in Geneva this month. Riyadh and Tehran, which support opposing sides in the Syrian civil war, have attended previous talks on the conflict but there is concern that the new rift between the arch rivals could set back diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Syria. Speaking after talks […]
