De Mistura, Gentiloni Stress Need to Eliminate ISIS, Reach Political Settlement in Syria
ROME-The UN Chief’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has stressed the need to press ahead with counterterrorism efforts, reiterating that political settlement in Syria is the only solution to the crisis.
During a press conference following his meeting on Monday with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni in Rome, de Mistura affirmed the importance of carrying on terrorism fighting efforts as to eliminate ISIS terrorist organization, pointing out that political settlement in Syria would help achieve this goal.
He added that he hasn’t fixed the date of the next round of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva yet, but there is a true intension to launch the talks after good preparation as to guarantee their continuity.
He clarified that consultations are being held at the UN headquarters between the members of the Security Council and members of the International Syria Support Group aiming to resume the intra-Syrian dialogue.
De Mistura has expressed hope that the Syrian-Syrian talks would be resumed in July.
The last round of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva stopped on April 27th without achieving any progress, because of the negative stances of the “Riyadh opposition group” and its being a servant to foreign agenda.
De Mistura hailed the “basic and important” role of Russia in solving the crisis in Syria, noting that Italy also supports solving the crisis politically in order not to repeat the mistakes committed in Libya and Iraq.
On his part, Gentiloni renewed his country’s support for the UN envoy’s efforts to reach political settlement in Syria.
Hamda Mustafa