Staffan de Mistura, Special Envoy for Syria. United Nations
Patrick Wintour, The Guardian: 'Golden opportunity' lost as Syrian peace talks collapse
UN special envoy blasts Bashar al-Assad, who is ‘unwilling to meet anyone with a different opinion’
UN-sponsored talks in Geneva designed to end the Syrian civil war have collapsed, with a deflated special envoy Staffan de Mistura admitting “a golden big opportunity” had been missed.
He largely blamed the Syria government delegation for setting preconditions on holding direct talks with the opposition, saying it would be difficult for any future talks sponsor to make progress “if the government is not willing to meet anyone who has a different opinion”.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 14, 2017
Years of fruitless efforts to end Syrian conflict -- AFP
Putin Declared 'Mission Accomplished' in Syria. What's Next? -- Nikolas K. Gvosdev. National Interest
Turkey switches to full defiance of US, continues Putin courtship -- M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia Times
Iran's weak hand exposed by ongoing developments in Yemen -- Amir Basiri, Washington Examiner
Can Diplomacy Work with North Korea? -- Georgy Toloraya, 38 North
Is there a way to avoid war on the Korean Peninsula? -- Alexander Gillespie, Al Jazeera
The Dangerous Appetites of North Korea's Dictator -- Matthew Little, The Epoch Times
China is furious and Australia should expect more backlash after questioning its influence -- Ryan Manuel, ABC News Online
Will those presiding over the killings of Rohingya children ever face justice? -- National editorial
Political Islam, Intolerance, and the IS Threat in Indonesia -- Bobby Anderson, RCD/The Conversation
Australian universities accused of sharing military technology with China -- Tom Iggulden, ABC News Online
EU leaders' summit: What's on the agenda? -- David Martin, DW
With Russia, Try Try Again -- Michael Nordeen, RCD
The scars of Catalonia -- Paul Preston, New Statesman
Can the PRI Escape Peña Nieto's Legacy in Election? -- Paul Imison, WP Review
2017 Was Bad for Facebook. 2018 Will Be Worse. -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
1 comment:
"UN special envoy blasts Bashar al-Assad..." when I read that, I was thinking, as to why these talks fail, "you can stop right there." The I read that he is "unwilling to meet anyone with a different opinion." This further reinforces why these talks collapsed.
Last time I checked the Russian, Iranian, Assad alliance either won the Syrian Civil War or have such a commanding lead that they may as well be declared the victor. For any talks to have a chance at succeeding, they will need to be approached from this angle. Assad and his allies are the strongest forces in Syria right now will be for the foreseeable future. When we recognize reality, good outcomes are possible.
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