January 12, 2017•Update: January 13, 2017
By Fatih Erel
GENEVA
The discussions for the upcoming Astana talks on Syria, with the sponsorship of Turkey and Russia in particular, have been progressing in the "right direction", the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura said Thursday.
"Astana is something that we have said and will repeat, the UN is supportive of. Particularly when we see that the discussions between the sponsors, Turkey and Russia in particular, with Iran added to it and the Kazakh authorities hosting it, are continuing and progressing, with ups and downs, but progressing in the right direction," de Mistura told reporters in Geneva following the meeting of the International Syria Support Group's Humanitarian Access Task Force.
Syria peace talks in Astana are expected to take place on Jan. 23.
"The UN is being kept informed and as we have said, and as the Secretary-General said, is ready to contribute and support so that we have a successful Astana meeting," de Mistura underlined.
"So far the focus, as you heard, will be most likely on stabilizing, on increasing, on deepening, thickening the positive effects of the cessation of hostilities with some type of political broad lines which we feel could be a good opportunity of linking them with and bringing them to Geneva for the meetings that we are planning on the target date which is still on Feb. 8," he added.
The new round of Syria peace talks in Geneva is expected to begin on Feb. 8.
About the water issue in Damascus, de Mistura said: "The water issue is affecting five million people in Damascus. The information we have is that five villages in the Wadi area have reached an agreement, an arrangement with the government. That is good news. But two villages, in particular one which is holding the actual source of water, al-Fijah, until this moment, has not yet reached an agreement."
