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1st LD Writethru: Syria peace talks not to resume in coming weeks: UN envoy

Xinhua, May 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Syrian peace talks aiming to broker an end to the five-year conflict will not resume in the next two to three weeks, United Nations(UN) Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura's office announced in a statement Thursday.

"De Mistura reiterated the need to see progress on the ground, particularly in reference to the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access," the envoy's office said after consulting the UN Security Council in New York via videoconference.

"He briefed on his intention to start the next round of talks as soon as feasible but certainly not within the next two to three weeks," the statement added.

The announcement comes amid a dire humanitarian context as much of the war-torn country's civilian population continues to face endemic shortages of food, water and medical supplies.

Humanitarian actors on the ground had hoped to reach 1 million people living in besieged and hard to reach areas this month, though only 160,000 have received multi-sectoral assistance so far.

Amid a context of unabated violence and a tattered February ceasefire, aid work has been seriously hindered by ongoing fighting between warring factions.

The situation in Darayya, Moadamyia and Al-Waer was described as "horrendously critical" by UN Senior Adviser Jan Egeland earlier Thursday.

De Mistura will maintain close contact with Syrian parties and members of the International Syria Support Group before determining the right time to resume talks in Geneva, his office said. Enditem