Peace talks to start with little hope of any breakthrough
beirut — A fifth round of UN-backed Syria peace talks begins Thursday in Geneva with scant hope of a breakthrough against a backdrop of fighting in Damascus and no sign of compromise.
The last session in February may have produced a “clear agenda”, according to UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, but the regime and rebels oppose each other on all its points.
The talks aim to find a solution to end a six-year conflict that has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with protests against President Bashar Al Assad’s regime.
This round’s agenda includes the issues of governance — a political transition — the constitution and elections, as well as counter-terrorism at the request of Damascus.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that all sides who had already attended the last round of negotiations in February had confirmed their attendance for this week.
“These will be ‘proxy talks’, direct talks have been excluded,” a Western source close to the negotiations told.
De Mistura, who wants the three main topics to be discussed “in parallel”, will be in charge of mediating, the source said. But his task will be tough as, according to analysts and diplomats, neither the opposition nor the regime is likely to make concessions.
The opposition has since 2011 called for Assad to step down, but the president refuses.
And the Damascus regime, which describes the rebels as “terrorists”, wants the issue of “counter-terrorism” to be given priority at the negotiations.
“There’s no hope in my view,” Syria specialist Thomas Pierret said.
“The regime continues to gain ground... There’s no reason for it to make the slightest concession.”
Since Russia’s military intervention in support of Assad in 2015, the regime has gained the upper hand, claiming a series of victories against the rebels and militants. —
The regime continues to gain ground... There’s no reason for it to make the slightest concession.
Thomas Pierret, Syrian specialist