MESOP : UN ENVOY DE MISTURA – ONE OF THE LAST DEFENDERS OF THE ASSAD REGIME – No direct negotiations between Syrian parties in upcoming peace talks

April 26, 2015 – United Nations – ARA News – Istanbul, Turkey – The U.N. special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said that the upcoming talks between rival Syrian parties “will not follow the lines of previous Geneva peace talks and will not include direct negotiations”.

De Mistura’s statements followed a closed session at the United Nations’ headquarters which ended with sending invitations to the Syrian conflicting parties in an attempt to find a political solution to the four-year-long crisis. The U.N. special envoy to Syria said in a statement that he intends to conduct separate talks with the parties in preparation for an extended dialogue, and that he sent several invitations to regional powers that have influence on the Syrian conflicting parties, including Iran. “Iran has a significant role in the region,” he told reporters. U.N. officials were quoted by media saying that de Mistura was not very optimistic about the success of this dialogue, and some parties may not respond to the invitation to participate in the upcoming meeting because of previous experiences of Geneva talks. Noteworthy, the previous dialogue rounds between the Syrian parties, which were held under the umbrella of the United Nations in Geneva, did not succeed in stopping the conflict that claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million Syrian people.