MESOP Syria Daily: UN Envoy Delays Political Talks to See Assad
by Scott Lucas – eaworldview – 8 April 2016 – UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has delayed the resumption of political talks on Syria’s crisis so he can meet officials in Damascus and Iran.De Mistura pushed back the date for the Geneva negotiations by two days to April 13, saying, “The next round of the talks needs to be quite concrete in the direction of a political process leading to a real beginning of a political transition.”In an interview with Russia media two weeks ago, President Assad rejected a “transitional governing authority”, which has been the centerpiece of international discussions since 2012.
Assad said there could be a “national government” of the opposition, independent, and regime figures. However, he did not indicate that he would step aside and he rejected the leading opposition-rebel bloc as “terrorist”.
The opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee has maintained the demand that the President leave power.The previous round of talks ended on March 24 with de Mistura circulating a document setting out “commonalities” of a resolution. However, the Assad regime has refused to move beyond its text — described as “bland” and “vague” by officials and diplomats — and the opposition-rebel HNC has said that the envoy’s text is not satisfactory. Meanwhile, Russia has insisted that the talks be expanded to include the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and politicians close to Moscow.
UN “DISAPPOINTED AND DISHEARTENED” OVER REGIME AND AID
De Mistura said yesterday that the regime delegation will not arrive in Geneva until April 14 or 15 because of Parliamentary elections on April 13. In addition to the discussions in Syria and Iran, the envoy said he had heard “some interesting ideas” from Russia and would consult Turkish, Saudi, Jordanian and Lebanese officials. Meanwhile, Jan Egeland, who advises de Mistura on humanitarian issues, said he was “disappointed and disheartened” at the Assad regime’s continued barriers to access to humanitarian aid:
April was supposed to be our best month. It’s not looking so, so far. We had five convoys ready to go, the last four days. All of the five convoys could not go. 287,000 people therefore did not get the relief, in hard-to-reach areas or in besieged areas.UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien said last week that aid agencies still cannot reach six of 18 areas besieged by the Syrian military. Reports from Darayya, southwest of Damascus, indicate that residents have been forced to eat leaves to survive. Almost 50 women from the town have posted an international appeal asking for assistance before there are deaths from starvation.