The UN-brokered peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition forces resumed in Geneva on Thursday February 23, following a 10-month break caused by the escalation of violence in the country. 

However, progress in resolving the six-year-old Syrian crisis was recently made in the Kazakh capital, Astana. 

The ceasefire has generally been in force in Syria since December 30, despite the sides reporting frequent violations. Russia, Iran and Turkey have become the guarantors of the ceasefire, which was also supported by a UN Security Council resolution.

UN’s special Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, began the fourth round of talks in Geneva in an opening session that brought the opposition and government delegations together at UN headquarters. 

“I ask you to work together,” he urged the delegations. “I know it’s not going to be easy to end this horrible conflict and lay the foundation for a country at peace with itself, sovereign and unified.”

He added that “it is your opportunity and solemn responsibility not to condemn future generations of Syrian children to long years of bitter and bloody conflict.”

The opening ceremony on Thursday was delayed by several hours after a disagreement between the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), an umbrella group of armed and political factions, and de Mistura over the structure of the opposition delegation. 

The disagreement came after de Mistura included two other groups in the talks – the Moscow and the Cairo platforms, the two pro-Russia, government-tolerated opposition groups, who sat separately from the HNC. 

“The HNC was in contact with the Cairo and Moscow platforms in previous meetings. There are ongoing efforts to join these platforms within the opposition delegation so that we are represented as one delegation,” Naser al-Hariri, head of the HNC delegation, told reporters ahead of the opening session.

The progress recently made in Astana has led to a feeble ceasefire, although de Mistura warned at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19 that “even a ceasefire cannot hold too long if there is no political solution”. 

The talks in Geneva were guided by UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which aims to create a new, credible, inclusive and non-sectarian system of governance, a process for free and fair elections, and a new constitution. De Mistura insisted that only the Syrian people could write a constitution. 

De Mistura’s plan did not explicitly call for a political transition. Head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Anas al-Abdah, said, “We are fully committed to the Geneva talks and prepared to discuss a political solution and transition. But we cannot address the profound security threats while Assad remains in power”. 

The EU has put pressure on the HNC to acknowledge that they are close to military and political defeat and that they must be open for compromise. Nevertheless, there’s little willingness to retreat from the position that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go. 

The Geneva talks follow weeks of difficult negotiations in preparation. The government and the opposition remain far apart on key issues. Though no breakthrough is expected, de Mistura says he is determined not to lose the momentum towards a resolution: “I think it will be worthwhile. We are going to give it a serious try.” 

AK/PA