U.N. Syria Mediator Reports Some Progress in Peace Talks
Mr. said that Wi
But the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said his delegation had met with officials of Russia, Mr. Assad’s most important ally, and
that they all had expressed "satisfaction with the course of the talks in Geneva, despite the attempts by some sides to foil these talks." The Geneva negotiations are separate from, but related to, talks held in Astana, Kazakhstan, led by Russia and Turkey, that have sought to strengthen and expand a tenuous cease-fire in parts of Syria.
While Mr. de Mistura said he expected that both Mr. Assad’s government
and the coalition of opposition groups would continue to publicly denounce each other, "this is part of the rhetoric." In private, he said: "I know what I heard and what I saw.
The diplomat, Staffan de Mistura, said discussions of counterterrorism
and security had been added to the list of topics to be addressed on the agenda to end the war, which is about to enter its seventh year.
The progress on defining what the Syrian antagonists would even talk about spoke volumes about the frustrations
that have vexed Mr. de Mistura in the talks, which have been held off and on for years and have been punctuated by acrimony and false hope.
Even now, Mr. de Mistura said, the team of Syrian government negotiators
and the opposition representatives use him as an intermediary to exchange positions.