UN proposes new approach in stalled Syria peace quest

The UN envoy for Syria on Wednesday proposed a fresh approach to keeping stalled peace efforts alive by inviting Syrians to take part in thematic working groups that could start in September.

Staffan de Mistura presented the idea to the UN Security Council after two months of meetings with key players in the four-year conflict which appeared to bear little fruit.

"Sadly there is still no consensus on the way forward," said the diplomat, who has been on the job a year. "The UN is obliged and all of us are obliged to keep the issue alive."

Previous UN-led efforts at direct negotiations between the Syrian regime and certain opposition groups in Geneva collapsed in failure in 2012 and 2014.

The Swedish-Italian diplomat, whose role has been dismissed as "mission impossible," said his new approach was for Syrians to engage in simultaneous "working groups" on the thorniest issues.

He gave no details on when or where the talks could take place, and who might participate. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon later told reporters he hoped they could begin in September.

The proposed discussions would focus on protecting civilians, political and constitutional issues, military and security matters, public institutions and reconstruction.

"Such an international initiative will require the support of a contact group and we will get to that at the right time," said de Mistura.

One of the key stumbling blocks so far has been the Syrian regime's insistence that talks on counter-terrorism precede all else, while opposition groups want a political transition.

Diplomats say the new emphasis on parallel discussions could help unblock such intransigence.

Ban called on the Security Council to endorse de Mistura's recommendations, and persuade parties to the conflict to take part "constructively."

"We must ensure that these preparatory negotiations are meaningful and not cynically exploited as a license to continue the killing," he warned.

Ban told reporters that he hoped the working groups would get off the ground "as soon as possible, even in September."

- Constructive role for Iran -

He called on the Security Council to use the "great momentum" created by the Iran nuclear deal to address the crisis in Syria, and on Iran to play a constructive role as well.

"There is clearly a very important role to be played by Iran," he said, calling Iran -- one of the main backers of the regime in Damascus -- a "crucially important player" in the Middle East.

The Security Council has been paralyzed by deep divisions over Syria, with Russia blocking resolutions aimed at putting pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the war.

The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, said his government would study de Mistura's proposals "thoroughly" and in detail.

"We will ask for further clarifications with regards to some points and then you will hear the Syrian official governmental position," he said.

"The issue of combating terrorism is the priority of priorities for the Syrian government," he stressed.

Ban called Syria "the world's largest humanitarian crisis."

At least a quarter-of-a-million Syrians have been killed and nearly half the population -- 12 million men, women and children -- have been forced to flee their homes, the UN chief said.

"The status quo in Syria is unacceptable," he said. Ban said it would be "immoral and irresponsible" to wait before making fresh efforts to broker a political solution.

It was a message that his 68-year-old envoy echoed.

There were "profound risks" to failing to act now, de Mistura told the Security Council. Each passing month, he said, "reduces the prospects of ever restoring Syria as a unified state."

He recently visited China, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Iran, and met Syrian opposition figures in Amman and Cairo.

His predecessors -- respected diplomats Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi -- both resigned after failing at the task of trying to bring peace to the country.
Source: AFP