The UN special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in an interview to Al-Jazeera TV channel, called for the unlimited character of the ceasefire regime, established on the territory of Syria.
"I know that the duration was set for two weeks, three weeks, but I believe that the agreement of Kerry and Lavrov has an open date. In my opinion, this is of great importance ... to keep it as long as we can, because this is what the Syrians need," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
The UN Special Envoy is sure that the longer the sides will be able to keep such a regime, the more opportunities and time for finding a political solution there will be.
"The United States and Russia have the opportunity to monitor cases of violations of the ceasefire. But the point is not whether these incidents happen or not, but whether they are constrained. Otherwise incidents become epidemic and disrupt the ceasefire regime. Right now, they can control it," de Mistura noted.
According to him, right now in the peace settlement of this conflict, "the chances of success are definitely higher than ever before." The diplomat explained this is due to three reasons.
"The first reason is that we have momentum. The Syrian people themselves have noticed it. Both from the humanitarian point of view and from the point of view of the cessation of hostilities and the reduction of animosity. Not fully, but we are moving in this direction," the UN special envoy said.
As the second reason, he mentioned the unity on the Syrian issue in the UN Security Council. "Thirdly, we have a contact group, so-called Vienna Group: 18 countries from Saudi Arabia to Iran, from Qatar to Turkey, from the USA to Russia. They sit in one room and discuss a political, not a military solution for Syria. All of this is potentially good news," de Mistura summed up.
At the same time, he emphasized the lack of alternatives to this plan. "As far as we can see, 'Plan B' is just a terrible conflict that will go on and on. Do you know who is the only victim of this conflict? The Syrian people. I do not think there is another plan, a 'Plan B'. We just have to make greater efforts to achieve a successful political solution on the basis of the Geneva communiqué," the diplomat is sure.
In his interview, Staffan de Mistura also spoke in favor of the participation of Kurds in the process of a peace settlement of the Syrian conflict. "The Syrian Kurds are Syrians, so they should be involved in discussions about the future of Syria, just like Christians and Sunnis, who were often excluded from the negotiations ... just like Alawites, and Shiites, everyone should be there. We'll find a way to include them, because it will be a very important signal," he said.
"I receive instructions from the UN Security Council – they all must be included," the special envoy added.
The diplomat also expressed the opinion that, in order to include Kurds in the negotiations, they need the right moment and the right approach.
