United Nations’ top envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura announced Wednesday that new talks between Syria’s government and opposition will take place “in about a month” and said this eighth round must finally move to “genuine negotiations on the political future” of the war-ravaged country.

Briefing the 15-member Security Council, Staffan de Mistura welcomed the creation of four zones of de-escalation resulting from the Amman and Astana meetings along with the de-confliction zones brokered by the Russian Federation, calling them an important step in the effort to curb the violence.

Now that the scourge of terror was starting to be defeated in Syria, time was ripe for a real and inclusive process, De Mistura said.

“The Government should be urged to show by word and action that it genuinely wants to have a negotiation,” he added.

For its part, the opposition had a duty to signal that it wanted to speak with one voice in genuine negotiations with the Government, he said, adding: “No one is asking the opposition to stop being an opposition, but we are urging the opposition to realize that it is at its most credible and effective when it stands together, and shows readiness to give and take.”

The time had come for the focus to return to Geneva for intra-Syrian talks under United Nations auspices.

“We have a month until those talks. Let us use it to prepare well,” he said.

Source: Agencies