© Xu Jinquan/Pool Photo via AP
Geneva, 4 March. /Offset. TASS Vladimir Kostyriv, Vasily Vavilin, Konstantin Gain/. The first after a ten-month break, the round of Syrian peace talks ended without breakthrough, but not a failure. The special envoy of the UN Secretary General on Syria Staffan de Mistura managed to resume a process that, if successful, should lead to the achievement of a batch of agreements on the settlement in Syria. However, without the help of Russia has not done.
Flow from Astana
Even the resumption of work in Geneva area has occurred largely through the efforts of Moscow. As noted by the Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Gennady Gatilov, who over the past week a series of consultations with negotiators, Geneva was possible only because of what happened in Astana.
Do not deny it de Mistura. At a press conference at the beginning of the talks, he said the efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran as the countries-guarantors of a ceasefire in Syria. And if there is a truce, said de Mistura, “the negotiations on a political settlement can lead at least a few weeks, at least a few months.”
Face-to-face
The success in Astana, however, sets a high standard for de Mistura. At the meetings in Kazakhstan, representatives of the Syrian government and armed opposition managed to reduce at one table.