France says UN-led Syria peace talks in Vienna represent 'last hope'
PARIS/VIENNA - France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday there was no sign of a political solution for Syria other than UN-led peace talks in Vienna and they were the “last hope”.
French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian delivers a speech during a foreign ministers’ meeting on the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, in Paris, France, January 23, 2018.
Several attempts at UN-sponsored peacemaking have fallen flat as Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran have recovered large swathes of the country from rebels since 2015.
Government forces recently escalated offensives against two remaining rebel pockets, Idlib in the northwest and eastern Ghouta near Damascus, while Turkey has poured troops into the north to fight Kurdish militias who have carved out regional autonomy and are seen by Ankara as a menace to its security.
Having regained the upper hand in the almost seven-year civil war, President Bashar al-Assad appears far from ready to negotiate with foes at all, let alone step down as part of any peaceful solution as rebel groups have demanded.
“Today, there is no political perspective that presents itself, other than - and it’s the last hope - the meeting that will be held in Vienna tomorrow under the auspices of the United Nations, where the belligerents will be present and where we hope a peace agenda will be mapped out,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers in Paris.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, invited the Syrian government and opposition to a two-day meeting in the Austrian capital with the goal of addressing issues related to a new constitution.
“By definition I am optimistic...It’s a very critical moment. Very, very critical,” De Mistura told reporters in Vienna, adding that both sides had promised to send full delegations.
