Brahimi Appeals to US, Russia for Syria help

Local Editor

Warning that "failure" was staring him in the face, Geneva II mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said Thursday the United States and Russia had promised renewed support to keep their rival Syrian allies talking.

The UN diplomat met senior diplomats from the US and Russia in Geneva, hoping the co-sponsors of the 3-week-old negotiating process could bury their own deep differences over Syria and prevail respectively on the opposition and government to move ahead and compromise.

"They have kindly reaffirmed their support for what we are trying to do and promised that they will help both here and in their capitals and elsewhere to unblock the situation for us, because until now we are not making much progress in this process," Brahimi told a news conference.

Both US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov looked tense as they arrived at the UN Thursday afternoon, although Sherman mustered a short wave to the sea of waiting cameras.

Asked after his two-hour meeting with Gatilov and Sherman whether the whole process had failed, Brahimi said:
"Failure is always staring at us in the face. As far as the United Nations is concerned we will certainly not leave one stone unturned if there is a possibility to move forward. If there isn't, we will say so."

A US official said "the hard work of this diplomacy continues and the United States will continue to support this work, while Russian officials were not immediately available for comment.
But opposition delegate Badr Jamous, following a meeting with Sherman, said her meeting with Brahimi and Gatilov was "not successful." "She just told us about the meeting with the Russians and Brahimi and it was not successful," he told reporters, without elaborating.

With the process at an apparent standstill Russia seemed prepared to play a greater role.

Russia - which has rejected a Security Council resolution that would allow the delivery of food and aid to besieged Homs and other cities - Wednesday proposed a counteroffer that not include the threat of sanctions on Damascus.
Gatilov met Wednesday in Geneva with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, the regime delegation chief.
Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, said late Wednesday the Russians "intend to push these negotiations and make them succeed."
"This was the main topic in the long meeting between Mr. Moallem and Mr. Gatilov," he said, but stresses that "we believe all the pressure should be put on the other side."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team