Germany says obstacles remain for Syria after United Nations backs peace process

The UN Security Council threw its unanimous support behind a plan to end Syria’s brutal civil war by summoning rebels and the regime to the negotiating table.

The resolution calls the transition Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, stressing that the “Syrian people will decide the future of Syria”.

The resolution calls on the United Nations secretary-general to convene representatives of the Syrian government and opposition “to engage in formal negotiations on a political transition process on an urgent basis, with a target of early January 2016 for the initiation of talks”.

Kerry – who has “agreed to disagree” with Moscow on Assad’s fate – emphasised that victory over the Islamic State group hinges on a peaceful settlement in the broader Syrian civil war.

“What Iran is concerned about is what the people of Syria want”, he said. This is the first time that all the related countries have come to a consensus.

The UN resolution also makes no mention of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s fate.

One analyst pointed that western countries have violated the resolution by insisting that the Bashar al-Assad government should step down.

Assad’s ally Iran, on the other hand, has refused talks with any group it considers terrorist including the Ahrar al-Sham faction, which it describes as a terrorist organisation.

The resolution also called on the parties to immediately allow rapid and safe access throughout Syria for immediate humanitarian aid to reach all people in need, and to release arbitrarily detained persons, particularly women and children.

The UN special envoy on the conflict, Staffan de Mistura, said he would send out invitations to talks in January.

Mr Hammond took a swipe at Russian Federation over what the West says is its deliberate targeting of moderate Syrian opposition forces in air strikes.

The deputy minister gave warning there were “severe differences over a list of terrorist groups”. “We have more military means and we will use them if we have to”. “Now I think that there will be follow-up meetings”, said Nasser Judeh, adding that countries had submitted between 10 and 20 names each. “Without a cease-fire, peace talks can not continue to produce results”, he said.

It also endorsed the continued battle to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants who have seized large swaths of both Syria and neighboring Iraq.

But a deal remained elusive on Friday morning as talks among the 17 members of the so-called International Syria Support Group got underway at New York’s Palace Hotel.

Publicly at least, the divide on Assad persists.