Russian proposal on inclusive intra-Syrian talks blocked at UN Security Council - UN envoy

UN, April 6. /TASS/. Western member states of the UN Security Council voted to block Russia’s proposal on the all-inclusive nature of the upcoming round of intra-Syrian talks, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said. According to the Russian diplomat, a delegation from Ukraine, which is not a permanent UN Security Council member, also added its destructive share into the decision to block the Russian proposal. Churkin said Moscow repeatedly expressed its concerns that Syrian Kurds were still not invited to take part in the Geneva talks on the ongoing conflict settlement, adding that "such stance contradicts UN Security Council’s resolutions in the inclusiveness of the political process in Syria." "It seemed that our concerns were shared by all main partners," Churkin said. "We have submitted with the UN Security Council’s members a draft for media calling to provide a maximum representation of the inter-Syrian dialogue at the upcoming talks." "We were surprised when the draft was blocked by some Western countries," he said. "The Ukrainian delegation also chipped in destructively." According to the Russian diplomat, "such stance raises eyebrows." "As our Western partners like to reiterate, the UN Security Council’s resolutions must be implemented in full," Churkin said. "These are the words of the gold value and must be adhered to under all circumstances." Churkin also added that "all segments of the Syrian society" must be participating in the talks. "This is particularly important at the moment since the April round of talks is expected to focus on issues of the state political system in Syria," he said. "The slogan that the fate of Syria must be defined by the people Syrian is not just a pretty slogan." The first round of inter-Syrian talks was completed on March 24. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced earlier that the next round of negotiations was expected to be launched no later than April 11, though several delegations may join later. Moscow repeatedly called for including Kurds in the negotiations process. Russia’s presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, said last week that the April round of negotiations in Geneva might result in the formation of a common delegation of the opposition, including Syrian Kurds. Read more