United Nations security council adopts resolution on Syria peace process

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the resolution for Syria is considered a crucial step to build on and the UN is focusing on two major targets after the Vienna talks; a ceasefire and reaching a permanent agreement between the regime and the opposition.

Western powers had hoped the council would rubber-stamp a resolution endorsing a two-year road map for talks between Syria’s government and opposition on a unity government, expected to begin in January, and eventual elections.

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry, who joined Mr Hammond and other foreign ministers for talks among the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in NY, said that by setting out clear goals and timings, the resolution was a clear “milestone”.

However, Davutoglu said does not provide protection for the Syrian people, who have already suffered so much during almost five years of bloodshed, from the “cruelty of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad”.

In turn, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that there are obstacles and sharp differences in the global community, particularly regarding the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

Kerry reiterated that there is no military solution to the crisis in Syria and the political solution is the only choice, affirming that only the Syrian people have the right to determine the future of their country.

The resolution further calls for the U.N.to present the council with options for monitoring a ceasefire within one month.

The resolution gave the United Nations an enhanced role in guiding the opposing sides to talks for a political transition, with a timetable for ceasefire, a new consitution and elections all under the auspices of the UN.

He said the process of drafting a new constitution must be independently decided by all parties and groups of Syria and that the future leader of Syria must be independently chosen by the Syrian people and only through a political process.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov listens during a press conference after a meeting in the U.N. Security Council of foreign ministers for a vote concerning Syria, Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 at U.N. headquarters.

Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Lavrov, Kerry and other European and Middle Eastern ministers, as well as top diplomats from regional rivals Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, were in NY for the meetings.

“There is an agreement”, Gennady Gatilov told reporters.

It also acknowledges that the peace process will not end the violence on its alone because it excludes terrorist groups – such as Isis and their rivals Jabhat al-Nusra – from participating in the ceasefire.

– 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. “In January, we expect to be at the table and implement a full cease-fire”, he said.