The second round of peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition has concluded with little progress. Yet international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi says both sides have agreed on a third round of talks and the focus for future negotiations. However, no date has been set for next round of talks.
UN-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi ended direct talks between the Syrian government and opposition on Saturday, with still no major breakthrough.
The final session lasted less than half an hour.
Brahimi said both sides had only agreed that a third round of talks should focus on four points: ending the violence and insurgency, creating a transitional governing body, building national institutions, and reconciliation. And no date has been set for the new talks.
Brahimi said an early agreement to evacuate people from the besieged city of Homs had created unrealistically high expectations. And he apologized to the Syrian people, admitting that the two rounds of talks had so far failed to deliver them any tangible results.
"I apologize to the Syrian people that their hopes, which were very, very high that something will happen here. I think that what has been, the little that has been achieved in Homs, gave them even more hope that maybe this is the beginning of the coming out of this horrible crisis they are in. I apologize to them that on these two rounds we have not helped them very much." Lakhdar Brahimi, UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria said.
Brahimi told reporters that Saturday’s talks had reached a deadlock, after the government side rejected his proposal to prioritize the creation of a transitional governing body during the next round of negotiations.
That raised suspicions among the opposition that the government wasn’t interested in discussing a political transition at all.
"So I think it is better that every side goes back and reflect and take the responsibility: do they want this process to take place or not?" Lakhdar Brahimi said.
However, Syria’s ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, has refuted Brahimi’s version of events, saying the Syrian government accepted Brahimi’s proposed agenda, "while the opposition side did not".
Brahimi said he would consult with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the next steps forward.
