UN: No postponement of Syria talks in Geneva

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA

The UN spokesperson Ahmad Fawzi said Thursday that there was no postponement of Syria peace talks between warring sides and as it was going to start on Friday in Geneva as planned.

Fawzi told Anadolu Agency that the peace talks will go ahead despite uncertainty about who will participate.

In a video message to the Syrian people before the talks, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura said, "You know in the next few days we are planning to launch what we call the Intra-Syrian talks, negotiations, in order to have progress in the context of reaching, finally, stability and peace and dignity back in Syria."

"You have seen enough conferences, two of them already taken place. This one cannot fail," de Mistura said.

"We are going not to disappoint you from the UN point of view. You know we will never abandon the Syrian people, but we need now you to feel that this time is the right one, we will do all what we can," the UN envoy said.

It is still unclear which groups will attend as de Mistura has not revealed who received an invite on Tuesday.

The envoy said a comprehensive list of “terrorists” operating in Syria, who would therefore be excluded from the talks, was still being worked on.

The conference would focus on setting up an interim government, forming a constitution and staging elections and the priorities would be establishing a cease-fire, supplying humanitarian aid and tackling Daesh, de Mistura said.

The conflict has been raging since early 2011 and has led to the deaths of more than 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million from their homes, according to the UN.

It also led to the rise of Daesh, which now controls large parts of Syria and Iraq, and the subsequent formation of a U.S.-led coalition to tackle the group in both countries.