UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen called on Russia and the United States during a Security Council meeting on Thursday to expand their dialogue on resolving the Syrian conflict at the highest level
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2019) UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen called on Russia and the United States during a Security Council meeting on Thursday to expand their dialogue on resolving the Syrian conflict at the highest level."We hope that Russia and the United States can build on recent talks and deepen their dialogue at the highest level ... because cooperation between them will be a key element for international cooperation on Syria," Pedersen said. "We also hope that cooperation can be built in a way that all other key players are involved - supporting a Syrian-led and owned process facilitated by the United Nations in the discharge of its mandate from this Council."
Pedersen also noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the G20 leaders to put Syria high on the agenda at the upcoming summit in Osaka, Japan.
The international community has launched several efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, including the UN-led Geneva process and the Astana process initiated by Russia, Turkey and Iran. One of the most notable outcomes of the Astana talks was a memorandum that created de-escalation zones in Syria.
The United States and its allies have said they do not consider a resolution of the Syrian conflict possible if President Bashar Assad remains in power. Russia has said only the Syrian people can decide the Assad's political fate and has supported his government. Russia has also been providing significant quantities of humanitarian aid to affected residents in Syria.
Syria has been in a state of conflict since 2011, with the Syrian Army and other government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations.
