UN Special Envoy to Syria discusses possibility of freezing fighting in Aleppo

YEREVAN, 10 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. UN special envoy to Syria Staffande Mistura’s new ideas regarding freezing fightingin Aleppo city were discussed during a meeting ofDeputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates

Minister Walid al-Moallem met with de Mistura inDamascus on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Deputy FM FayssalMikdad, Syria’s Permanent Representative to UN Dr.Bashar al-Jaafari, FM Advisor Ahmad Arnous and deMistura’s accompanying delegation.

The main points of de Mistura’s initiative, which was first put forward late October, were presented to President Bashar al-Assad on the former’s latest visit to Syria last November.

The President then said the initiative was worthy of study and that work on it was needed to pursue its goals of re-establishing security in Aleppo.

The UN Envoy was also received by al-Moallem during the same visit, which was de Mistura’s second since he was appointed envoy in July.

Yesterday, al-Moallem clarified at a press conference with his Belarusian counterpart that de Mistura’s initiative was focused on Aleppo city itself and not its countryside, making a point clear that the UN Envoy was welcomed not because one side or another exerted pressure, but because the Syrian government wanted to implement an agreement that keeps Aleppo stable and intact and restores normal life to it.

The Foreign Minister noted that de Mistura’s assistant, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, held talks with Syrian Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad, and the gist of these talks was that de Mistura has new ideas he’d like to propose on his plan.