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Spotlight: Syrian gov't chief negotiator unfazed by opposition's withdrawal from talks

Xinhua, April 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Head of the Syrian government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari told press Wednesday that Syrian talks aiming to broker a political end to the five-year crisis would continue despite the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) pulling out of formal talks on Tuesday.

"Ambassador Ramzy reiterated that the UN considers the talks to be ongoing in spite of the withdrawal ... ," he said following his meeting with UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy.

"If they leave the talks, the talks will not lose anything because to begin with they do not represent the Syrian people. Quite the contrary, by leaving, they may take away a major obstacle and allow us to reach a solution," he added.

The HNC accused the government of avoiding concrete discussions on the issue of political transition, while also deploring the dire humanitarian and security situation on the ground.

Al-Jaafari for his part considered that HNC head Riad Hijab, who left Geneva Tuesday, was not up to the task, preferring instead to "sulk" during the process.

"The political solution resides in a broad-based national government, a constitution, and parliamentary elections," al-Jaafari explained.

"Any group that thinks otherwise is living an illusion and by that they are undermining the Geneva talks, wasting their time, and our time," he continued.

According to the diplomat, a national unity government would include members who reject terrorism as well as opponents in the national opposition who are not subject to foreign agendas.

Not even a week into talks, UN-mediated proximity negotiations have reached a critical juncture as factions fail to see eye to eye on a number of issues amid a worsening humanitarian situation on the ground.

The cessation of hostilities in place since Feb. 27 is by and large holding however. A diplomatic source told Xinhua that the fragile truce is still respected in 70 percent of territories, while before the truce 70 percent of Syria's territory is under fighting.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, away in Italy for personal reasons, is scheduled to assess the situation on Friday. Endit