UN envoy urges Russia, U.S. to advance dialogue on Syria
UNITED NATION, (North Press) – UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Friday called for a nationwide ceasefire in the country, on the basis of relative calm situation on the ground.
“While Syria is calmer than before, worrying incidents continue that could destabilize that calm,” Pedersen said at the Security Council.
“I encourage Russia and the United States to advance their dialogue and for them and other key players, including the Astana Guarantors (Russia, Turkey and Iran) and those who meet in the Small Group (the Foreign Ministers of the Small Group on Syria), and the members of this Council, to work with me toward our common goal in Syria: a political settlement in line with Resolution 2254,” he added.
The countries participating in the small group meetings are: (Britain, Germany, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and France, as well as the United States).
The last meeting of the Constitutional Committee was held in mid-August.
The third round of the discussions of the Syrian Constitutional Committee was concluded on August 29 in Geneva after several discussion sessions that lasted 3 consecutive days without achieving tangible results.
The UN special envoy added: “The co-chairs were unable, contrary to what I had hoped for, to agree on the agenda for the next meeting.”
Pedersen said that the next meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee is scheduled for early October, but its agenda has not yet been agreed.
“Discussions on the compromise proposal will continue. We need to finish agreeing on the agenda without delay if we plan to hold the next meeting in early October, as I hoped,” the special envoy added.
Security Council Resolution 2254 was unanimously adopted on Dec. 18, 2015, calling for a ceasefire and political settlement in Syria.
Pedersen also gave a positive assessment to the results of his recent visit to Moscow. “I, in particular, highly appreciated the opportunity to recently visit Moscow for meaningful discussions on a wide range of issues with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu,”
the special envoy noted and recalled that his meetings in the Russian capital took place on the eve of Lavrov’s visit to Damascus.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, however, urged the West to move to halt Israeli strikes on Syria.