UN shifts on Syria peace talks language
US assures allies that it supports diplomatic solution in Syria war
The United Nations is no longer using the phrase “political transition” to describe the goals of this week’s Syria peace talks, in a potentially major concession to negotiators representing President Bashar Al Assad.
“Political transition” is a phrase understood by the opposition to mean a removal of Al Assad or at least an erosion of his powers. But his government has rejected any suggestion that it could be on the table, and at previous peace talks in Geneva his negotiators consistently tried to steer away from it. Yara Sharif, spokeswoman for UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, initially told a regular UN briefing in Geneva yesterday that the talks, due to start on February 23, would address the political transition. “I think, yes, you can use the word ‘political transition’.
It is going to be a focus I guess as it has been in the past,” she said in response to a reporter’s question. But she later sent an email to clarify her comment.
“This morning at the briefing I was asked about the intra-Syrian negotiations and whether the issue of political transition would be discussed,” she said. “For clarification purposes, please note that the negotiations will be entirely guided by Security Council Resolution 2254, which talks specifically about governance, a new constitution and elections in Syria.”
The December 2015 resolution was unanimously adopted as the basis for peace talks, which ran fitfully through the first months of 2016 but never resumed after the end of April.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday faced a grilling by global peers seeking clarity on Washington’s position on the Syria conflict ahead of UN peace talks in Geneva. US allies, however, said they had won assurances from Tillerson that Washington backed a political solution to the Syria conflict. Tillerson joined a group of countries who support the Syrian opposition for talks on a way to end the nearly six-year war.
“All the participants want a political solution because a military solution alone won’t lead to peace in Syria,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters in Bonn.