Latest intra-Syrian talks in Geneva end in failure

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The eighth round of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva has ended as predicted, with nothing but wrangling and both negotiating parties holding firm to their positions.

Ahead of the talks, the Saudi-backed Riyadh Platform opposition group renewed demands for President Bashar al-Assad's departure as a prelude to any political settlement, giving the government delegation a reason to accuse the opposition of placing preconditions to the talks, something that had previously been rejected.

The government side, as in previous rounds, wanted to prioritize the counterterrorism as the first item of discussion.

The opposition wanted to discuss a transitional period for governing the country.

The UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, received his share of criticism during the talks.

On Thursday, the head of the government delegation, Bashar al-Jafaari, said the UN envoy was undermining his mission as a mediator by calling on President Vladimir Putin, Syria's main international ally, to pressure Damascus into accepting elections.

The UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura shows a map of Syria at a press conference in Geneva on Dec. 14. /Xinhua Photo

Speaking to Swiss TV on Wednesday, Mistura said Putin can "convince the government that there is no time to lose." He added that failing to do so risks the "fragmentation of Syria."

"You can think you win territory militarily but you have to win the peace ... And to win the peace, you have to have the courage to push the government to accept that there has to be a new constitution and new elections, through the United Nations," the envoy said.

Mistura has also been trying to push both sides into face-to-face negotiations, but the Syrian side refused as long as the opposition delegation kept holding tight to its preconditions.

During the days-long talks, pro-government media outlets quoted the government delegation as saying that they were not going to Geneva to hand over the rule of Syria to the opposition.

Jafaari, in his remarks to reporters Thursday, said that the government delegation wasn't going to embark on direct talks with the opposition as long as they keep adopting preconditions, particularly those related to the presidency of Assad.

For his part, De Mistura said Thursday that the eighth round ended without "real negotiations."

He told journalists at the UN in Geneva that the two weeks of talks failed to yield the intended results despite great efforts, which he described as a "missed golden opportunity."

De Mistura said the scheduled topics of a constitution and elections under UN Security Council Resolution 2254 had not even been discussed with the government delegation.

"We did not see the government looking to have a dialogue in this round," said the UN envoy, adding that "there is no alternative but to have the legitimacy of the UN."

He said as well as reporting back to the UN Security Council in New York, he would also seek advice from special ambassadors of the Permanent Five members of the Security Council who he has been consulting.

Maher Ihsan, a Syrian political analyst, told Xinhua that the opposition preconditions made ahead of the talks were the main hurdle in the face of reaching any common ground between both sides.

Members of the delegation of the SNC attend a meeting with UN deputy special envoy for Syria Ramzy during the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva. /Reuters Photo

"They have tried this demand before and they failed to achieve anything, and they renewed this demand now at a time when the government forces retook major areas across Syria," he told Xinhua.

For his side, former US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, has warned the opposition delegation in remarks he made to a pro-opposition media outlets.

Ford stressed that Assad will remain in his post for a long time, adding that it's impossible for the opposition to force him to leave.

He added that the opposition has no choice due to the major military defeat of the opposition fighters in Syria.

The opposition has to accept the fact that Assad is staying in his post "even though his continuation (in the rule) would have negative repercussions on us."

Meanwhile, Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the opposition delegation to Geneva, said at the end of the talks that the opposition is committed to the political solution.

"We came to Geneva with the hope and dream of peace," he said, accusing the government delegation of "challenging the international community and scoffing at it."

He said the Geneva talks are at the stake and "the world has to move to salvage it," noting that Russia alone cannot pressure the government into moving forward on a political solution.

Al-Hariri accused the government delegation of refusing to lift the siege imposed on besieged rebel-held areas.

After the failure of this round of talks, eyes are now shifted toward the upcoming talks in Astana brokered by Russia, Iran, and Turkey, observers say.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency