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UN chief appeals for seizing opportunity of talks to solve Syrian crisis

Xinhua, March 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday appealed to Syrian parties, regional and international stakeholders and the UN Security Council to help make intra-Syrian talks successful.

"If we miss this opportunity, the consequences for the Syrian people and the world are too frightening to contemplate," said Ban in a statement.

Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the Syria civil war. UN statistics show that in the past five years, over 250,000 Syrians have been killed. More than 4 million Syrian people have been forced to flee their homes.

"The Syrian authorities could have responded peacefully to the legitimate demands of the people with genuine dialogue and reform," said Ban.

"Regional and international actors could have united to help Syria stabilize rather than use it as a battlefield for regional rivalries and geo-strategic competition," he said.

Noting the global consequences of failing to resolve the Syrian conflict, including an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe as well as the rise of terrorist groups like the Islamic State, Ban said "it is in this context that renewed international and regional diplomacy and commitment to finding a solution to the Syrian conflict is vitally important."

"That can only come through a comprehensive political settlement to the conflict that addresses the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and builds on a nationwide ceasefire," he said.

The intra-Syrian negotiations resumed on Monday in Geneva. According to UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, these talks are "strongly" requested by the International Syria Support Group and also the five permanent members of the Security Council.

There should be "at least a clear roadmap, not an agreement, but a roadmap" to solve the five-year-old crisis by the end of rounds of talks, said Mistura. Enditem