U.S. urges new way to elections, cease-fire in Syria

UNITED NATIONS — The United States accused the Syrian government on Thursday of stalling political negotiations and called for a new route to U.n.-monitored elections and a nationwide cease-fire that would end the country’s eight-year conflict.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen called for Russia and Syria to de-escalate military operations in the last rebel-held strongholds in Idlib and northern Hama and warned that the United States will keep ratcheting up pressure if this doesn’t happen.

He told the Security Council it must acknowledge that efforts to advance the political process by the so-called Astana group — comprising Syrian government allies Russia and Iran and opposition supporter Turkey — “have failed.”

And after 17 months of negotiations to form a committee to draft a new Syrian constitution, Cohen said, “it is time to admit that not only has progress stalled, it is likely to remain out of reach for some time — because that’s where the regime wants it to be.”

Agreement on a new constitution has been seen as a key step toward implementing a 2012 roadmap for peace that includes a cease-fire and ends in U.n.-supervised elections. It was approved by representatives of the U.N., Arab League, European Union, Turkey, and all five veto-wielding Security Council members — the U.S., Russia, China, France and Britain — and endorsed by the Security Council.

Cohen said it’s time for U.N. special envoy Geir Pedersen to try other routes to a political settlement of the Syrian conflict by focusing on preparations for elections.

He said the U.S. believes that the reinvigoration of the political process can and should start with a cease-fire in Idlib and northern Hama.