1 March 2016 (UN News): The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, today announced that intra-Syrian peace talks he has been mediating in Geneva will resume next Wednesday, 9 March.
Mr. de Mistura had been mediating the Geneva-based talks, which officially kicked off last month, but on 3 February called for a pause following differences between Government and opposition delegations on the priority of humanitarian issues.
UN member states must get involved
The announcement of the resumption of the discussions comes just days after the UN Security Council unanimously endorsed the joint statement announced last week by United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) Ceasefire Taskforce, on the terms of a nationwide cessation of hostilities, which has been in effect since Saturday, 27 February.
That text, unanimously adopted in December, gave the UN an enhanced role in shepherding the opposing sides to talks for a political transition, endorsing a timetable for a ceasefire, a new constitution and elections.
Russian salon
Earlier today, as part of his official visit to Geneva, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon inaugurated the newly renovated Russian Salon, at the Palais des Nations, at an event attended by Foreign Minister Lavrov.
After the event, Mr. Ban held a meeting and the two agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations.
