Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Geneva, SANA – The United Nations official spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura hopes the Syrian-Syrian dialogue resumes in Geneva in May.
Fawzi said on Tuesday the meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) is expected to be held on May 17, saying this is a positive sign.
He also considered that the Russian-US joint statement issued on May 9th is a positive new development of events, adding that this increases de Mistura’s hope for resuming the Syrian talks.
The UN spokesman clarified however that there is no date yet for resuming the talks, affirming that de Mistura is working hard with Russia, the US and other ISSG members to activate the cessation of hostilities in order to resume the dialogue.
Russia and the US confirmed in a joint statement on Monday their support for the cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria and enhancing efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis there.
Russian Foreign Ministry: ISSG will meet on May 17
Later in a relevant context, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the ISSG will meet on May 17 in Vienna to discuss the crisis in Syria.
The Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to participate in the meeting of the group, which includes 17 countries.
For his part, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also confirmed in statements to reporters in London on Tuesday that the ISSG is to meet in Vienna on May 17.
“The ISSG will formally come together to build on what we did with the Russians in terms of this agreement and to talk about all kinds of things, ranging from duration, to enforcement to the political process,” Kerry added.
He said that he expected talks involving the opposing [Syrian] parties to take place “some days after that”.
Qabas/H. Said
