S Arabia obstructing Syria peace talks, UN envoy hints
The United Nations special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura has hinted that Saudi Arabia is deliberately undermining ongoing efforts for reaching a political solution in Syria.
In a confidential briefing to the 15-nation UN Security Council meeting on January 18, de Mistura accused Saudi Arabia of complicating his efforts on Syria by trying to tightly control which opposition groups are allowed to participate in the international negotiations to resolve the deadly crisis in the country, according to a report published by Foreign Policy magazine on Thursday.
The UN diplomat also said that the Saudi-backed opposition groups in Syria and their “sponsors” have time and again rebuffed his personal appeals to allow other groups being represented in the talks on Syria.
De Mistura said the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) “insist on the primacy and exclusivity of their role as ‘THE’ opposition delegation.”
He did not name Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh has been the main backer of HNC, hosting its headquarters in the capital Riyadh. The opposition group, which is hugely detested by the Syrian government in Damascus, also enjoys support from major governments including France, Turkey, and Qatar.
“The truth is that the parties remain locked in fixed positions and a ‘zero-sum’ game,” de Mistura told the closed-door meeting, adding, “Parties disagree not only on substance, but what concerns me is that they also question that the UN could or should exercise its discretion in ‘finalizing’ the opposition list.”
The next round of internationally-brokered talks on Syria had been planned to be held on January 25, but a spokesman for de Mistura said earlier on Thursday that the talks could be delayed for at least several days.
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