An exchange of prisoners should increase mutual trust between the government and the opposition, Sergei Lavrov said on the first day of a long-awaited conference on Syria’s civil war.
Direct negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition are set to go ahead on January 24, Lavrov said. The peace negotiations are expected to last between seven and 10 days.
“We have launched a very complicated, difficult process,” Lavrov said. “For the first time in three years of this bloody conflict … the parties have agreed to sit down at the negotiating table despite all the accusations made against each other.
“There is certainty that despite all the emotionally charged statements from both Syrian delegations, the talks will begin.”
Lavrov met with the heads of the two delegations: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who represents the government, and Ahmad Jarba, leader of the National Coalition, Syria’s main Western-backed opposition group in exile.
- “They both assured me that they would try to conduct negotiations with the aim of reaching certain agreements. I’m not going to speculate right now on how successful they will be,” Lavrov said.
The Geneva 2 peace conference bringing together Syria’s warring parties and top global diplomats began Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux.
The conference’s organizers hope it will lead to the formation of a transitional government for Syria, where at least 100,000 have been killed in civil strife since 2011, although President Bashar Assad has shown no sign of intending to step aside.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140122/186819034/Syrian-Sides-Are-Committed-to-Peace-Talks-Planning-Prisoner-Swap.html
22/1/14
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Brahimi to meet two Syrian sides on Thursday ....
ReplyDeleteUN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday that he will meet both Syrian delegations separately on Thursday, a day ahead of their first negotiations when he will try to bring them into the same room.
Brahimi, speaking to a news conference after all-day ministerial talks in the Swiss resort of Montreux, first said it was not clear whether he would be able to bring two sides into the same room at the United Nations in Geneva on Friday.
"We will try to see if we meet Friday morning separately and hopefully by Friday afternoon both sides will sit in one room," he said later.
Describing the challenge ahead, Brahimi said: "We have no illusion that it is going to be easy but we are going to try very hard."
Voice of Russia, Reuters
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_01_22/Brahimi-to-meet-two-Syrian-sides-on-Thursday-7455/
22/1/14
UN's Ban meets Chinese FM for Syria...
ReplyDeleteGENEVA- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Geneva II peace conference in Montreux. According to the statement released by the UN's office, Ban and Wang agreed on the need for a political solution in Syria. They highlighted that humanitarian aid to Syria must be further enhanced. Ban conveyed his thanks to Wang for China`s contribution for humanitarian aid. China has sent more than $16.7 million to Syria.
The Geneva II peace conference is taking place in the Swiss town of Montreux to bring together the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition to discuss a transitional government for Syria with full executive powers. It concludes on Thursday.
Around 40 countries were invited to the talks, including the US, Russia, Germany and Turkey.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/278286--uns-ban-meets-chinese-fm-for-syria
23/1/14
U.N. confirms that Brahimi to hold separate talks with Syrians ...
ReplyDeleteThe United Nations confirmed on Friday that Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will meet Syrian government and opposition delegations separately on Friday.
Earlier, opposition delegates told Reuters that the opposition will not meet with the delegation led by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem until it endorses the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012 calling for a transitional governing body to be established. "This process is being shaped at the moment. It has to take time for the preparations," U.N. spokeswoman Alessandra Velluci told a news briefing in Geneva. "There are no Syrian-Syrian talks at the moment." "I cannot tell you anything about what will happen in the next few days," she added.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2014_01_24/Brahimi-separate-talks-Syrians/
24/1/14
Syria peace talks on verge of collapse before they begin...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - Syria's first peace talks were on the verge of collapsing on Friday before they began, with the opposition refusing to meet President Bashar al-Assad's delegation and the government threatening to bring its team home.
The opposition said it would not meet Assad's delegation unless it first agreed to sign up to a protocol calling for a transitional administration. The government rejected the demand outright and said its negotiators would return home unless serious talks began within a day.
"If no serious work sessions are held by (Saturday), the official Syrian delegation will leave Geneva due to the other side's lack of seriousness or preparedness," Syrian state television quoted Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem as saying.
Friday was meant to be the first time in three years of war that Assad's government and foes would negotiate face to face.
But plans were ditched at the last minute after the opposition said the government delegation must first sign up to a 2012 protocol, known as Geneva 1, that calls for an interim government to oversee a transition to a new political order.
"We have explicitly demanded a written commitment from the regime delegation to accept Geneva 1. Otherwise there will be no direct negotiations," opposition delegate Haitham al-Maleh told Reuters.
The government delegation met U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi separately, and said it rejected the opposition demand: "No, we will not accept it," Information Minister Omran Zoabi told Reuters.
Brahimi, who met the government team for barely an hour, was due to talk to the opposition delegation separately later on Friday.
The opposition says it has come to discuss a transition that will remove Assad from power. The government says it is there only to talk about fighting terrorism - the word it uses for its enemies - and that no one can force Assad to go.
"There are no Syrian-Syrian talks at the moment," said U.N. spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci. "I cannot tell you anything about what will happen in the next few days."...............http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/24/us-syria-crisis-idUSBREA0N0L520140124?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
24/1/14