Skip to main content

United Nations envoy proposes new forum to resolve Syrian conflict

Geir Pedersen, Syria, United Nations,

The new United Nations envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, proposed Thursday that major powers create a common international forum to move the war-battered country toward peace.

Pedersen, who took up his post in January, made the proposal during his first appearance before the UN Security Council, which remains deeply divided over the way forward in Syria.

“There is a shared sense that battlefield developments might be winding down,” Pedersen told the council. “Nevertheless, the conflict is far from over.”

“If we are to see how issues can be unblocked and how to help the parties move in a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, a common forum where key states engage seriously on those issues may be needed,” he said.

Russia, a veto-wielding council power whose backing for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been a decisive factor in the war, has taken a lead role in diplomatic efforts through the Astana group with Iran and Turkey.

UN diplomacy on Syria has been largely sidelined by the Astana group, while the United States has shifted its attention away from the Syria conflict.

President Donald Trump has announced that he is pulling out the bulk of US forces sent to battle Islamic State militants.

Pedersen noted that five international armies operate across Syria’s land and air space, creating daily risks for escalation and pledged to focus on improving international dialogue and cooperation.

Addressing the council, Russia appeared to welcome the proposal, even if it questioned the West’s motives in Syria.

Read More: ‘Friends’ Erdogan and Putin vow to coordinate actions in Syria

“We are open to cooperation with all interested parties that want sincerely – and I underscore that word sincerely – to facilitate stabilisation and progress on a political settlement in Syria,” said Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia.

Pedersen, a Norwegian diplomat who took over the Syria file from Swedish-Italian envoy Staffan de Mistura, has travelled to Damascus for talks and worked hard to establish good relations over the past few weeks.

The envoy said a much-discussed constitutional committee to pave the way to elections in Syria should be convened as soon as possible, although disputes continue over lists of participants.

“I am conscious of the need to end this conflict for the sake of Syria, the region and the world,” Pedersen told the council. “I know you all understand the scale and the difficulty of my task.”

The war in Syria will enter its ninth year in March, with more than 360,000 people dead and half of the country’s pre-war population displaced.

The post United Nations envoy proposes new forum to resolve Syrian conflict appeared first on ARYNEWS.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

K-Electric fined Rs2 mn over weak power supply system

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs2 million on the K-Electric. According to a statement issued by the power regulatory authority, the K-Electric was penalized over non-compliance of performance standards, particularly its failure to restore power supply within the prescribed time frame and to ensure the safety of public in Karachi. Quoting media reports, it said large swathes of Karachi remained without electricity due to the tripping of almost 700 feeders during rainy weather in June last year, which resulted in long power blackouts ranging from 24 hours to 48 hours in almost 50% areas of Karachi. Further, there were also reports of fatal injuries to some people owing to electrocution. The Nepra took notice of the situation in Karachi and directed the K-Electric to immediately provide a detailed report on the tripping of feeders and electrocution incidents along with preventive and corrective steps taken by K-Elec...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 creepy celebrity wax statues

Waxworks of celebrities, sports persons and politicians such as Tom Cruise, Barack Obama and Christiano Ronaldo are admired by people all over the world. The craft requires taking careful and accurate measurements to create these wax statues, which are then polished and perfected to make for an exact replica. Madame Tussaud’s is one of the most famous museums in the world that displays wax statues, however, not all wax museums in the world craft flawless statues. Compiled from Cosmopolitan India , here is a list of the creepiest celebrity wax statues. Barack Obama PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN David and Victoria Beckham PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Jennifer Aniston PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Beyonce’s wax statue sparks outrage Jennifer Lopez PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Justin Bieber PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Justin Timberlake PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Aamir Khan PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Katrina Kaif PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN London’s Tussauds gets to work on Trump wax figure Selena Gomez PHOTO: C...
Post a Comment
Read more

Accountability court hears assets case against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday resumed the hearing of a reference filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income.  Judge Muhammad Bashir is recording the statement of a prosecution witness, Ishtiaq Ahmed. At the previous hearing, the accountability judge had reserved his verdict on an application filed by two co-accused seeking acquittal in the case. Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi, who are directors of Dar’s companies, had filed the application requesting the judge to exonerate them from all charges for want of evidence. Qazi Misbah, the counsel for the two co-accused, contended the prosecution has failed to provide compelling evidence to prove the allegations leveled against his clients. The third co-accused President National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Saeed Ahmed, had already filed an application before the court for his acquittal wh...
Post a Comment
Read more