Syrian Government and Opponents Agree on a Clear Agenda

The UN Special Envoy for Syria stated on Friday, March 4, at the end of the Syrian negotiations in Geneva that the Damascus government and its opponents have agreed on a "clear agenda" to achieve peace in the country. Stefan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva that the plan is for the negotiating parties to meet in late March for a new round of talks, with the issue of combating terrorism included in the agenda, as requested by the Damascus government. According to the French news agency, the UN envoy for Syria stated: "The train is at the station, ready to go, its engine is warming up. Everything is ready; it just needs to be accelerated." He added, "I think we now have a clear agenda before us." The UN envoy stated that the Security Council has set a "timeline" under which a new Syrian constitution must be written within 12 months, and free and fair elections under UN supervision must be held within 18 months. The goal of the Geneva negotiations, which began in April last year, is to end the conflict in Syria that started in March 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad. March 15 marks the seventh anniversary of the beginning of these conflicts. According to the UN report, more than 310,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since then. The report indicates that the focus of this round of talks, like previous negotiations, was more on the agenda between the parties. According to UN Security Council Resolution 2254, the parties must follow a framework that includes "three baskets" or three areas of discussion: governance, constitution, and elections. However, Damascus pressured to add the issue of combating terrorism to the negotiation agenda, which angered the opponents, accusing the Syrian government of "obstruction" in the dialogue process, aiming to block the political transition. The High Negotiations Committee, which represents the main opposition group, stated that the recent Geneva talks have been "very positive" compared to the past. Nasr al-Hariri, the head of this committee, said: "We concluded this round of negotiations without results... but I can say that this round has been very positive." He added, "For the first time, we deeply discussed issues related to the future of Syria and political transition." In this context, the UN accused the Syrian government and rebels of committing war crimes in Aleppo. Syrian government forces have once again seized the ancient city of Palmyra. The Syrian government accused the Assad opposition delegation of obstructing the Geneva peace talks.