News & Events

Russian-sponsored diplomatic talks over the future of Syria have begun in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, but experts predict the summit will merely attempt to enforce a political solution that is in line with the Syrian government’s agenda.

In a last-ditch push for peace in Syria, UN officials are hosting peace talks between the Damascus regime and the opposition. The Vienna talks are scheduled just days ahead of Russia’s rival peace summit.

The US is showing a new commitment to forcing the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad to make concessions to end the country’s seven-year civil war, but must still do more to persuade Russia to put pressure on Assad to negotiate, the Syrian opposition leader has said.

Syrian rebel groups on Monday rejected Russia’s planned Sochi conference on Syria, saying Moscow was seeking to bypass a United Nations-based Geneva peace process and blaming Russia for committing war crimes in the country.

UN-sponsored talks in Geneva designed to end the Syrian civil war have collapsed, with a deflated special envoy Staffan de Mistura admitting “a golden big opportunity” had been missed.

With a flurry of diplomatic activity, two separate summits on Syria are to be staged this week to put decisive pressure on both sides to end the civil war and thrash out a new constitution that is likely to leave President Bashar al-Assad in power.

Representatives of the Syrian opposition and President Bashar al-Assad’s regime are meeting in Astana for a sixth round of talks. They are hoping to secure a ceasefire, but how far off is a lasting peace agreement?

The UN-brokered Syrian peace talks are failing due to external interference and can only be rescued by refocusing on the issue of political transition, a coalition of 160 Syrian civil society groups has said in an open letter to the UN’s special envoy.