Syria : Statement of Riyadh 2 Conference Provocative, Categorically Rejected

The provocative language used in the statement issued by the Saudi-backed Syrian opposition group in its recently held conference in Riyadh is categorically rejected as the statement constituted a step backward plus it included precondition for dialogue and this contradicts the Security Council Resolution 2254, Head of the Syrian Arab Republic delegation to Geneva Intra-Syrian talks Bashar Al-Jaafari has underscored.

UN: De Mistura continues to serve as Special Envoy for Syria

Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary General Farhan Haq said UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will continue with the work that he is doing right now.

UN chief to announce appointment of new Syria envoy soon

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon said here Wednesday that he is going to announce the appointment of a new UN envoy for Syria soon to replace Lakhdar Brahimi because consultations are underway in order to "get every player on board."

"I know you are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the appointment of a successor to Lakhdar Brahimi," Ban said at a press conference here on the current developments in the Middle East. Consultations are still continuing and I hope to be in a position to make an announcement very soon."

ΟΗΕ: Ο ντε Μιστούρα νέος ειδικός απεσταλμένος για τη Συρία

Ο πρώην υφυπουργός Εξωτερικών της Ιταλίας Στάφαν ντε Μιστούρα θα διαδεχθεί τον παραιτηθέντα Λάχνταρ Μπραχίμι στη θέση του ειδικού απεσταλμένου του ΟΗΕ για τη Συρία, όπως έγινε γνωστό σήμερα από διπλωματικές πηγές.
Ο διορισμός του έχει επικυρωθεί από τις χώρες-μέλη του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας, όμως δεν έχει ανακοινωθεί επισήμως από τον Οργανισμό.
Σύμφωνα με έναν διπλωμάτη, ο ντε Μιστούρα θα εκπροσωπεί τον ΟΗΕ και θα έχει και έναν "Άραβα αναπληρωτή". Ο Μπραχίμι ήταν ειδικός απεσταλμένος τόσο των Ηνωμένων Εθνών όσο και του Αραβικού Συνδέσμου.

Lakhdar Brahimi: I resigned in protest (video CNN)

Christiane Amanpour interviews former Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi about Syria, his resignation and Assad....

Brahimi: Syria Terrorists Responsible Used Chemical Weapons in Khan al-Asal (interview with Der Speigel)

Former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi acknowledged that Syria terrorist groups were responsible for the chemical attack in Khan al-Assal in Aleppo.

"From the little I know, it does seem that in Khan al-Assal, in the north, the first time chemical weapons were used, there is a likelihood it was used by the opposition."

In an interview with the German newspaper Der Speigel, Brahimi said that many countries misjudged the Syrian crisis, expecting Assad's rule to crumble.

Obama meets Syrian opposition leader in show of support

US President Barack Obama met with the leader of Syria's main rebel group on Tuesday, in a display of US support to the moderate opposition in the war-torn country.

On Tuesday afternoon, Obama joined National Security Advisor Susan Rice's meeting with Syrian Opposition Coalition President Ahmad Jarba and the Coalition delegation, the White House said.

UN cautions Syria against holding presidential election amidst ongoing ‘tragedy’

UN, 21 April 2014 – Urging Syrian authorities to reconsider plans to conduct a presidential election in early June, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Joint UN-League of Arab States Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi today pledged to continue to seek and build on any opportunity to resolve the country’s three-year civil war.
Addressing reporters in New York, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said holding elections in the current circumstances “will damage the political process and hamper the prospects for political solution that the country so urgently needs.”
“Such elections are incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Geneva Communiqué,” he added in reference to the action plan adopted 2012 during the first international conference on the conflict, calling for a transitional government to lead to free and fair elections.

U.N. envoy for Syria apologizes for lack of progress

GENEVA. -U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said Saturday that the Syrian government had rejected a proposal to start a third round of peace talks by focusing on violence and terrorism on the first day, with a second day spent discussing a transitional governing body.
"Unfortunately the government has refused, which raises the suspicion of the opposition that in fact the government doesn’t want to discuss the TGB at all," Brahimi said in a press conference on the last day of the second round of Syria peace talks. He spoke in a U.N. Office in Geneva.

Syrian government, opposition representatives now meeting together with UN mediator

GENEVA  - A UN spokeswoman says delegations from the opposing sides in Syria's brutal civil war are now meeting in the same room with UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi.

The opposing sides had previously been negotiating through go-betweens. But UN spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci said Saturday they were now meeting directly.

Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat, is a veteran UN negotiator and troubleshooter. 

Syria says will leave if no "serious sessions" at Geneva. -U.N. confirms that Brahimi to hold separate talks with Syrians (video UN)

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Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem was quoted by state television on Friday as telling international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi that if no serious work sessions were held by Saturday, the government delegation would leave.

Brahimi and a Syrian government delegation met on Friday at the United Nations in Geneva, a witness said, and the mediator is due to meet the Syrian opposition delegation later on Friday. State television said the meeting was characterised by a "positive atmosphere."

Syria: UN-Arab League envoy regrets opposition group’s absence from Geneva talks. -Kerry urges Syrian opposition to attend peace talks

16 January 2014 – The United Nations and Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria regrets the decision of one of the opposition groups, the National Coordination Committee (NCC), not to take part in next week’s international conference in Switzerland seeking to end nearly three years of civil war.
Lakhdar Brahimi called NCC President Hassan Abdel-Azim yesterday to convey his “deep regrets’ but said he respected the decision.
The conference will seek to achieve a comprehensive agreement between the Syrian Government and the opposition for fully implementing the decision of an earlier Geneva conference in June 2012, which called for the creation of a transitional government to hold elections.

Syria: top envoys brief on latest UN efforts to tackle worsening Syria crisis.

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5 November 2013 – International efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria continue apace, with two United Nations officials reporting today on their work towards convening a political conference that brings all sides in the conflict to the negotiating table, and overseeing the destruction of the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles, reported on their latest activities today.
The UN still hopes for a so-called Geneva II conference before the end of the year, Lakhdar Brahimi told journalists in Geneva, reiterating the importance of a political solution to the crisis, which is now in its third year.

Assad: foreign powers must end rebel support. -Syrian president tells UN-Arab envoy that peace talks can only come when foreign states withdraw assistance.

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The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has said he is open to peace talks but insisted that they would not go ahead unless foreign nations stopped supporting rebel fighters.

The comments came during a meeting on Wednesday with peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus.
"The Syrian people are the only ones who have the right to decide on Syria's future, and any solution or agreement must have the acceptance of the Syrian people, and reflect their desires," Assad told Brahimi.

Χρειάζεται "πολιτική" λύση στη συριακή κρίση, συμφώνησαν οι Λαβρόφ, Κέρι και Μπραχίμι. (1+1 VIDEO UN)

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Ο επικεφαλής της ρωσικής διπλωματίας Σεργκέι Λαβρόφ, ο αμερικανός ομόλογός του Τζον Κέρι αλλά και ο κοινός ειδικός απεσταλμένος του ΟΗΕ για την Συρία Λάχνταρ Μπραχίμι συμφώνησαν σήμερα στην Γενεύη ότι μόνον με μια "πολιτική λύση" μπορεί να υπάρξει διευθέτηση της σύρραξης στη Συρία, σύμφωνα με επίσημη ανακοίνωση που εξέδωσε το υπουργείο Εξωτερικών στην Μόσχα.
Ο Ρώσος ΥΠΕΞ Λαβρόφ ανέφερε ότι συμφωνήθηκε εντός του μηνός να υπάρξει ένας νέος γύρος συνομιλιών, στη Νέα Υόρκη, με την ευκαιρία της ετήσιας Γενικής Συνέλευσης του ΟΗΕ για ανταλλαγούν απόψεις όσον αφορά τις πιθανότητες να συγκληθεί μία ειρηνευτική διάσκεψη για την κρίση στη Συρία.

Brahimi says Syria strikes need UN approval. -UN-Arab League envoy says it would be illegal to bypass Security Council, as debate rages on possible military action.

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Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy to Syria, has said that no state can "take the law into their own hands" and conduct military action against Syria without prior UN Security Council approval.

Brahimi was speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in St Petersburg on Friday, after meetings with foreign ministers including Russia's Sergei Lavrov, who said many nations realise that striking Syria without Security Council backing would scuttle the chances of reaching a political solution.