UN envoy: No signs Syrian gov has given ground
After hosting the seventh round of Syrian peace talks, the UN envoy for Syria say he has seen no sign that the government of President Bashar al-Assad has given any ground on possible political transition.
Instead, Staffan de Mistura wrapped up the latest session of the intra-Syrian talks aimed to help end the country's blistering six-year war by turning his focus to one of the Assad government's main talking points: The fight against terrorism.
Syria's main opposition group has strived unsuccessfully to put the spotlight on "political transition" as sought under a Security Council resolution in December 2015. It has been a bedrock text upon which de Mistura's efforts have been based. The UN envoy said Friday "I don't have any indication" that Assad's envoys will ever address political transition.
