A Syrian soldier flashes the victory sign at the Abbasyieen area in the east of Damascus, capital of Syria, on March 20, 2017. The Syrian army recaptured all areas fallen during Sunday's wide-scale offensive by rebels in eastern Damascus, the military general command said Monday. The army retook all points lost to the rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and like-minded groups in the factories area at the entrance of the rebel-held neighborhood of Jobar in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus, said the statement.(Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
GENEVA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The fifth and latest round of Syria peace talks came to a close on Friday, with the UN special envoy for Syria commending the engagement of rival delegations in negotiations seeking to broker a political end to the six-year conflict.
"After the fourth round, you probably remember, I said we have finally a clear agenda and a method, the four baskets, to advance UN Security Council resolution 2254," Staffan de Mistura told press.
"After this round, I think I can say with caution that all the invitees have gone into considerable detail on the substance of that agenda with us, using exactly the methodology that we established," he added.
The UN envoy noted that rival delegations were both "serious" and "engaged" in talks seeking to end the Syrian crisis which has killed over 310,000 people since it kicked off in 2011.
While no breakthrough has been achieved, de Mistura said that invitees touched upon "each or most" of the four baskets, referring to issues of governance, constitution, elections and counter-terrorism.
He also said that Syrian invitees appeared to be keen and ready to reconvene in the Swiss city to continue with the political track, and that he is seeking to keep discussions open before negotiations resume.
When this will be remains to be seen. The envoy said that he is will travel to New York next week to consult with the UN secretary-general and the UN Security Council, after which he will indicate when the sixth cycle of talks will kick off.
De Mistura reiterated the importance of the upkeep of a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey last December, as well as improved humanitarian access in the war-torn country so that future talks avoid an early breakdown.
