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The permanent representative of France to the UN, François Delattre, said that Paris believes that Syrian President Bashar Assad has no place in the future of the country, and the influence of extremist groups on its territory will continue to grow as long as he has power. "It is a mistake to think that Bashar al-Assad could be an alternative to terrorism. It does not make sense," TASS cited the diplomat.
UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said that a truce may be declared in Aleppo. The envoy has recently met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and discussed the 6-week cessation of air operations over Aleppo. Mistura clarified that Aleppo was chosen as a district to set an example, to show the population what it could get from freezing the conflict.
The Syrian government is willing to suspend its aerial bombardment and artillery shelling of Aleppo for a period of six weeks, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said during a closed session of the UN Security Council. According to him, the purpose of the suspension of the bombing trial is so that a local ceasefire can be tested, Tass reports.
Inter-Syrian negotiations will be held in Moscow from 26 to 29 January.
The Western press on the economic crisis in Russia, Navalny, Syria, and the Iranian nuclear programme
The New York Times today proposed a plan of how to save the Russian economy in its article “Rapprochement With Russia?”. President Vladimir Putin has attempted to minimize the difficulties and deflect blame toward the West. Painful sanctions were brought against Russia, that reinforced its dependence on oil and isolated its economy.
Andrei Baklanov says that positive changes which encourage consolidation of people around the president have taken place in Syria
UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said that solving the Syrian crisis by force was out of question. The only solution is a political dialogue, according to the diplomat, TASS reports.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, told UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura in Tehran yesterday that Iran was ready to cooperate with the UN in fighting ISIS together, Trend reports.Iran …
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the conflict in Syria was fueling terrorism and aggravating the humanitarian catastrophe in the country. He noted that the humanitarian catastrophe was provoking more violations of human rights …
Staffan de Mistura (Italy) has been appointed as the new UN special envoy to Syria, as announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Interfax reports.Staffan de Mistura's predecessor Lakhdar Brahimi took part in two rounds of negotiations of the Syrian government and opposition, although to no avail. Mistura worked as an italian deputy foreign minister and headed the UN Mission to assist Afghanistan.Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy (Egypt) became a deputy of the new special envoy.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will name Staffan de Mistura later on Wednesday as the new Syria mediator, replacing Lakhdar Brahimi who stepped down on May 31 after talks in Geneva failed, diplomatic sources said.De Mistura, a dual …
