Geneva talks on Syria rescheduled

NEW YORK: The next round of UN-based peace talks on Syria had been scheduled for February 20, diplomats said yesterday.

The talks had been planned to begin in Geneva next Wednesday, but Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that they had been postponed.

The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said yesterday that he had decided to delay the UN-sponsored talks to take advantage of last week’s negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition in Astana, Kazakhstan, hosted by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran.

The Astana talks ended with Moscow, Ankara and Tehran agreeing to monitor Syrian government and opposition compliance with a December 30 truce.

“We want to give a chance to this Astana initiative to actually implement itself,” De Mistura said. “If the ceasefire becomes as solid as we hope, that will only help the serious talk to achieve the concrete.”

He said invitations for the Geneva talks would go out next Wednesday. If the Syrian opposition could not agree on its delegates, De Mistura said the UN would choose the opposition’s representatives “in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible”.

De Mistura said the UN would be attending a follow-up technical meeting on Monday of the talks in Astana, on the implementation and monitoring of the Syria ceasefire. – Reuters