Matthew Rycroft, permanent representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, speaks to the press on Syrian peace talks, at the UN headquarters in New York, March 10, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday welcomed the mediation efforts by the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to bring all warring Syrian parties to a negotiation table and looked forward to the early resumption of the intra-Syrian negotiations in order to end the Syrian crisis, which enters its seventh year this month.
"The members of the Security Council welcomed the conclusion of a further round of United Nations-facilitated intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva on 3 March 2017," the 15-nation UN body said in a press statement.
"The members of the Security Council looked forward to the early resumption of the intra-Syrian negotiations and encouraged the Syrian parties to return to talks in good faith and to engage constructively and without preconditions on the agenda set out by the UN special envoy when talks resume," the statement said.
After briefing the Security Council, De Mistura told reporters here Wednesday that a new round of Syrian peace talks is set to take place on March 23 in Geneva.
The fourth round of Syrian peace talks ended on Friday with no breakthrough achieved towards reaching a political solution to end the country's six-year war. "They further welcomed the announcement by Special Envoy de Mistura of a clear agenda for future negotiations" as indicated by Security Council Resolution 2254, focusing on governance; constitutional issues; elections; and counter terrorism, security and confidence building measures, the statement said.
"The members of the Security Council reiterate their commitment to ensuring the inclusion of Syrian women in the political process through sustained consultation and dialogue and promoting their full and effective participation," the statement said.
"The members of the Security Council recognised that the continuation of political negotiations was made possible by the ceasefire developed through the Astana process," the statement said, referring to the talks held in January in the capital of Kazakhstan, which ended with a final communique backing a one-year ceasefire reached recently in Syria, and brought six-year-old foes face to face for the first time.
"The members of the Security Council called on the Syrian parties to fully implement the ceasefire, established pursuant to the arrangements of 29 December 2016, noted by UN Security Council resolution 2336, including ending ceasefire violations and ensuring humanitarian access," the statement added.
