UN says Syria talks to focus on political transition

geneva — Upcoming Syria peace talks remain focused on negotiating a “political transition” in the war-ravaged country, the UN mediator’s office said on Tuesday, following concern the UN was backing away from that aim.

United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura had appeared reluctant in recent days to use the term “political transition” — a term the opposition has linked to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s removal from office.

De Mistura’s chief of staff, Michael Contet, told reporters that Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for “negotiations on the political transition process”, was still the basis for the talks set to begin in Geneva on Thursday. Political transition and the opposition’s insistence that Assad quit power have been a main sticking point in previous rounds of negotiations.

The Damascus government has categorically insisted that the president’s fate is not up for discussion.

Since April 2016, when rival delegations were last in the Swiss city, the opposition has seen its position weakened substantially, as government forces have recaptured territory including the former rebel bastion of eastern Aleppo.

The opposition has also seen its biggest supporters — the United States and Turkey — show signs of shifting their positions, prompting concern in rebel ranks that their demands for Assad’s departure may go unheard.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has said it is “relooking at everything” about its involvement in Syria, and Turkey last month said last month it was no longer “realistic” to insist on a solution to the Syria conflict that excluded Assad.

But Ahmad Ramadan, a spokesman for the opposition National Coalition, insisted to AFP that “the main issue in this round will be the political transition.” —

security Council resolution 2254, which calls for negotiations on the political transition process, was still the basis for the talks set to begin in Geneva Staffan de Mistura, United Nations envoy