Syria: new round of talks in NY today

U.N. Security Council members have unanimously approved a U.N. resolution endorsing a peace process for Syria including a cease-fire and talks between the Damascus government and the opposition.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told reporters that the five veto-wielding council members did not yet have an agreed draft to present to the 15-nation body for approval on Friday.

Agreement on a resolution came after a meeting of the so-called International Syria Support Group at New York’s Palace Hotel.

The resolution would be a rare gesture of unity on the Syria peace process by a council often deeply divided on the crisis.

– The resolution notes “in particular the usefulness of the meeting in Riyadh” earlier this month that brought together political and armed opposition groups to agree on a negotiating team for the peace talks.

While maintaining its firm backing for Assad in public, Russian Federation has recently made clear to Western nations that it has no objection to him stepping down as part of the peace process, diplomats said.

“We are under no illusions about the obstacles that exist”, Kerry said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two most important issues are launching political negotiations among Syrian parties and implementing a U.N.-monitored cease-fire.

He spoke as foreign ministers from 17 countries were meeting in NY to push forward on a plan to launch a political transition that will end Syria’s almost five-year war.

Talks about the transition will be held between the Government and the opposition by early January, the resolution said.

The roadmap, which also calls for a nationwide ceasefire that would not apply to Islamic State, Nusra Front and some other militant groups, was worked out in two rounds of ministerial talks in Vienna.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, along with the ministers from 16 other countries will participate.

The Jordanian foreign minister said on the sidelines of the talks that a finalised list was being negotiated but that he did not expect agreement at the meeting. It formalizes a target of six months for establishing a transitional government, followed by elections within 18 months.

Western diplomats have said Western powers, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others have reluctantly agreed to allow Assad to remain in place during a transition period, a compromise that has opened the door to a shift on Russia’s stance. “There are still countries that think Assad is the solution to fighting Daesh (Islamic State), which is the complete opposite of our view”.

But diplomats indicated on Friday that the talks in NY were unlikely to yield a breakthrough on the key disagreements that have plagued the negotiations process despite momentum gathering over the past month in the wake of ISIL’s attacks in Paris and its downing of a Russian passenger plane.