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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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11Nov14
UN envoy urges "action" on Syria crisis
The United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said here Tuesday that his visit to Syria focused on an action plan for the conflict-torn country.
At a press conference in Damascus, the envoy said his plan focuses on the real threat of terrorism and the reduction of violence, and that the plan could be the "building block" toward a political solution in Syria.
"The visit this time follows a briefing I gave at the (UN) Security Council. It's a briefing that was focusing on an action plan not a peace plan. It (peace plan) will come, but meanwhile ( it's) an action plan," he told the press conference.
Mistura, who arrived in the country on Saturday, had proposed a "freezing battle" plan to be implemented first in the country's northern province of Aleppo.
He said the "action plan" is aimed at a few basic points, mainly the need for focusing on the real threat of terrorism as defined by the resolutions of the Security Council, and the reduction of violence.
Mistura said that he chose Aleppo as the first place to implement his plan because it represents a place where there are high tensions between the government and the rebels in addition to the presence of Islamic State (IS) militants.
He said the initiative of "freezing" the battles is a new way to seek to achieve the hoped-for de-escalation of violence.
"It's different from the previous cease-fires," Mistura said. " It's a new way of approaching the de-escalation of violence in particular, in one place to start with: Aleppo."
Further explaining his plan, the envoy said the freeze of battles means that every party in Aleppo can hold their positions, but without battling.
The "freeze" of battles would lead to implementing the UN Security Council's anti-terror resolutions and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to the war-weary Syrians in Aleppo.
"If that freeze works in one place we can replicate it elsewhere," Mistura said. "If that freeze works, and we hope it will, it can be a building block for a political process."
Mistura described his meetings with Syrian officials as " constructive", saying that the Syrian leadership now awaits the results of his upcoming meetings with other stakeholders and regional players who are influential parties in the course of the Syrian crisis.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was cited by the state news agency SANA as saying that the new initiative was "worth studying. "
[Source: Xinhua, Damascus, 11Nov14]
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