Syria's warring sides around one table as Geneva peace process starts

[alp227]

Last edited Sun Jan 26, 2014, 12:40 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Observer

Face to face across a U-shaped negotiating table, beneath the olive-wreathed symbol of the United Nations, Syria's warring parties met for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday under heavy international pressure to prevent the Middle East's bloodiest crisis spinning further out of control.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN mediator, ushered representatives of Bashar al-Assad's government and the rebels fighting to overthrow him into a short opening session in Geneva where he set out his plans for a peace process he has warned is needed to "save Syria" – where 130,000 people have been killed and millions have become refugees. No one else spoke. There were no handshakes, no small talk – and no agreements. Eye contact was minimal.

Intense hostility and relentless propaganda created a charged atmosphere in the Palais des Nations, the UN's elegant Swiss headquarters, with its high ceilings, faded 1930s frescoes and endless corridors. The idea was for the heads of the two Syrian delegations to speak "through" Brahimi rather than to each other. "This is what happens in civilised discussions," the veteran Algerian diplomat said later. "I think it is a good beginning. We haven't achieved much, but we are continuing." The two teams even entered and left the room using different doors.

Plans for a ceasefire to allow aid into a besieged area of the city of Homs were on the table at a second two-hour session as the US and Russia, consulting closely, emphasised the need for tangible achievements and to relieve suffering. "If we achieve success on Homs we hope it would be a beginning that would allow us to be successful on other issues," Brahimi said. Prisoner exchanges are to be discussed on Sunday.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/26/syria-geneva-negotiations-talks-un

[LTG]

1. I haven't been paying close enough attention to this.

So many other issues to track and try to understand.

Are the various jihadi groups represented? Or, only the western supported ones?

If the various opposition factions can't get along with each other, in fact are killing each other, what agreement will end, even temporarily, hostilities if all parties are not at the table. And that isn't even considering the Kurds.

Or is this just more political theater? Then again, if all the parties there come to some agreement, we could label all the jihadis terrorists and, with the approval of the Russians, Syrians and Iranians, start using drones and air power to take them out. A little convoluted and near CT, but who knows.