Talks to decide Syria’s future have started and are the “moment of truth” for its people and those who want the five-year-old conflict to end, UN negotiator Staffan de Mistura said Monday.
Speaking at the UN in Geneva, which is hosting the talks, de Mistura acknowledged that “much distance” remains between the warring parties.
In Syria, efforts to deliver desperately needed aid are continuing, but several areas are still out of bounds to humanitarian convoys the UN said Wednesday, as the country’s warring parties prepare to arrive in Geneva for peace talks.
UN negotiator Staffan de Mistura said that he was prepared to talk “with whoever is arriving” to discuss the future of Syria, which lies in ruins after five years of war.
Talks to decide the future of Yemen could take place before the end of October despite the “deep mistrust” between those involved, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, said Thursday.
Insisting that there’s a “strong logic” for the talks to start now, Mr Eliasson highlighted how recent advances by terrorist groups threatened to destabilize the region further unless the fighting stops.
