Syria talks in Moscow end with no progress

Syria talks in Moscow end with no progress

• Representational Image File Photo

Talks between representatives of the Syrian government and some mainstream members of the opposition ended in Moscow with no sign of progress towards ending a four-year-old conflict that has killed more than 2,20,000 people.

The second such meeting this year in Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was marred by friction among the opposition delegates and was boycotted by the Syrian National Coalition, a Western-backed group based in Istanbul.

Russian mediator Vitaly Naumkin, Qadri Jamil, a former Syrian government official now with the opposition, and the head of the Syrian government delegation in Moscow, Bashar al-Jaafari, praised an accord they said both sides had endorsed.

They said it called for a political deal based on an agreement reached in Geneva in 2012, an end to outside meddling and a halt to support of terrorism in Syria. “We had no illusions that these talks could provide solutions to all the problems.

But we managed to agree on some points,” Jamil said. “We should see the glass as half-full, not half-empty.” But Samir Aita, of the Syria Democratic Forum group, said not all opposition delegates supported the document and called for trust-building measures and humanitarian issues to be addressed, including release of political prisoners in Syria.

“Despite all the casualties in Syria, it seems Bashar al-Assad still does not understand what a political solution is. I think the Syrian regime missed a chance to move towards a political solution,” Aita said. “This document doesn’t help build hope, on the contrary, it destroys it.

via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1IzRvU1