UN envoy says next phase in Syria talks �crucial�

AFP, DAMASCUS: The UN peace envoy to Syria on Monday said in Damascus that an upcoming round of negotiations in Geneva aimed at ending the country’s five-year war would be “crucially important”.
“The Geneva talks’ next phase are crucially important because we will be focusing in particular on the political transition, on governance and constitutional principles,” Staffan de Mistura told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
“We hope and plan to make them constructive and we plan to make them concrete,” the envoy said.
Scheduled to resume on April 13, the Geneva talks are aimed at ending a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes since it erupted in March 2011.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December which paved the way for the talks and called for elections in Syria to be held 18 months after a transitional government is agreed.

 

UN envoy says next phase in Syria talks �crucial�

AFP, DAMASCUS: The UN peace envoy to Syria on Monday said in Damascus that an upcoming round of negotiations in Geneva aimed at ending the countrys five-year war would be crucially important. The Geneva talks next phase are crucially important because we will be focusing in particular on the political transition, on governance and constitutional principles, Staffan de Mistura told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. We hope and plan to make them constructive and we plan to make them concrete, the envoy said. Scheduled to resume on April 13, the Geneva talks are aimed at ending a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes since it erupted in March 2011. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December which paved the way for the talks and called for elections in Syria to be held 18 months after a transitional government is agreed.