Will a Humanitarian Plan for Syria Save the Negotiations in Geneva?
by Sophie Mangal, SGT Report:
It has been the fifth day of the Geneva talks on Syria but a consensus has not yet been worked out. Despite this fact some opposition groups managed to introduce some constructive suggestions.
Among them is the opposition group close to Moscow, which gave UN mediator Staffan de Mistura a list of measures on overcoming the humanitarian crisis in Syria, as well as the vision of the political process in Geneva.
The head of the Moscow group Hamza Monzer said on February, 26, the document includes a number of specific mechanisms to combat the terrorist threat.
He noticed that the first point of the plan is to strengthen the fight against terrorism. Monzer said that it is impossible to solve the humanitarian problem of the Syrians without the victory over the militants and stated it is important to stop the financial support of terrorism.
Following the results of the consultations with the special envoy on SyriaStaffan de Mistura, the head of the delegation noted that the direct talks between the opposition united and the Syrian current government are also necessary to resolve the conflict in Syria. Moreover, he called upon to gather and create the only delegation that, in principle, should have been done according to UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
It should be recalled that “Riyadh”, “Cairo” and “Moscow” groups have no consensus on the issue of conflict resolution. During the negotiations an attempt was made to unite all the groups but the parties were unable to agree. It seems the prospect of the direct talks between Damascus delegation and unified opposition remains vague.
Meanwhile while opposition groups are not ready to accept concessions and to work out a joint solution on the Syrian crisis Staffan de Mistura will be very difficult to take into account the views of each member. Thus, the Geneva talks may indefinite prolongation.
