United Nations, September 29: UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said Tuesday that it is imperative to push for the political process in Syria as the situation remains unsustainable.
"With military front lines largely frozen for 18 months, and concerns from parties regarding the status quo, the time to push for a political process is now," he told the Security Council in a briefing.
Security Council Resolution 2254, which provides for a roadmap for a political settlement of the Syrian crisis, recognizes the close link between a nationwide cease-fire and a parallel political process, he said. "I continue to call for this -- particularly given episodes of violence and the dangers of this spiraling into all-out confrontation."
The Syrian people desperately need a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process to deliver. And as part of that, they also need the sustained attention of the international community in support of a wider effort that could solidify calm, ease their suffering, and proceed along the path of restoring Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity and meeting the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people to determine their own future, he said.
"It is clear from all our engagements that trust is low. But it is also clear that common interests do exist, that things are not static, and that there is every reason to try now to build a more effective political effort. We need, indeed, to find a genuine intra-Syrian political dialogue ... and through this, a genuine process of Syrian political reform," he said.
Pedersen told reporters after the briefing that the situation in Syria is not sustainable and it is not in the interests of anyone to keep the situation like it is now.
The country is still divided basically in three different territories. The Islamic State and other terrorist groups are roaming around. There is an economic collapse. There are refugees that have not started to return and internally displaced persons that are still living far away from their homes, he said.
"The challenges are enormous, and we need to start to address all of this. And my hope is that we can start doing that now," he said.
Source: Xinhua
