Regime says new UN envoy must avoid old methods
Pederson must ‘commit to Syria’s territorial integrity’
Damascus - Syria says it will cooperate with new UN envoy Geir Pederson if he avoids the “methods” of his predecessor.
Pedersen succeeds Staffan de Misutra, who stepped down after four years of peace efforts in that led nowhere.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was quoted in the pro-regime daily Al Watan on Sunday as saying Syria would cooperate with Pederson if he commits to Syria’s territorial integrity and stops supporting “terrorists, as his predecessor did.”
De Mistura convened several rounds of indirect peace talks between the regime and the opposition aimed at ending the civil war, which began in 2011 and is still underway.
His latest efforts focused on negotiating a joint regime-opposition committee to draft a new Syrian constitution. The regime, which refers to the opposition as “terrorists,” calls it “meddling.”