UN envoy urges Syrian rivals to take ‘historical’ responsibility

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura calls on regime and opposition negotiators Thursday to accept the “historical” responsibility to seek a peaceful solution to the country’s six-year conflict.

He said the peace talks in Geneva will officially launch later Thursday evening and that he was not expecting miracles, while urging rival sides to guide the Syrian people out of the “nightmare” caused by the war.

“This is… our solemn responsibility… a historical responsibility not to condemn the future generations of Syrian children to long years of bitter and bloody conflict,” he tells rival delegations gathered together for a brief ceremony at the United Nations headquarters.

“The Syrian people desperately want to end this conflict,” he says. “We face an uphill task. It will not be easy,” he continues, adding all sides know “what will happen if we fail again: more death, more suffering.”

De Mistura met separately with government and rebel delegations earlier in the day in preparation for the formal talks.

— AFP