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Roundup: Syrian talks push on in a bid to make progress by next week

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Friday that Syrian talks aiming to broker a political end to the conflict will continue next week despite Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation pulling out of formal negotiations.

"The usefulness of these proximity talks is to get the respective visions of what is their views of a political transition," he explained.

"The big difference from the past is that both sides are actually talking only about one subject: political transition," he added.

The withdrawal of most of the HNC delegation, which left a technical team in Geneva, has complicated matters. The envoy said that he will continue to hold meetings with them in their hotel.

"We need to try and get as deep as possible by Wednesday in the areas we have been starting to discuss. We can do that formally, informally, technically and practically, but we need to do it," de Mistura highlighted.

While the Syrian government seeks to establish a broad-based national unity government to include members who reject terrorism as well as opponents in the national opposition who are not subject to foreign agendas, the HNC backs the creation of a transitional governing body with full executive powers which has no place for incumbent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In light of deep-seated differences of opinion, the envoy urged the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) ministers to reconvene as soon as possible in a bid to rekindle hopes of reaching a solution to the crisis which has killed some 400,000 people, according to de Mistura's own estimate.

Last time when the group met in February in a high-level meeting, members produced both an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and a marked improvement on the humanitarian front, giving new dynamics to the talks.

"We must not forget that what are trying to do in terms of vision and getting deeper into political transition can and needs to be helped by facts on the ground," de Mistura stressed.

"We can definitely get back on track but it will require urgent efforts because of what we have been witnessing in the last few days," he added. The envoy hopes to delve deeper into the main issues at stake by whatever means.

The envoy is scheduled to meet for the fifth time the Syrian government delegation on Monday morning. Endit