Wed Jul 16, 2014 22:34:07
New UN peace envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura will meet members of the Security Council on Friday as he sets out to revive efforts to end the devastating war.
Diplomatic sources said it will be a first opportunity to discuss the way forward with De Mistura, an Italian-Swedish diplomat with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 67-year-old former Italian deputy foreign minister was appointed last week, replacing Algerian Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May after two rounds of peace talks ended in failure.
The United Nations is hoping to get the peace process back on track but it remains unclear if the roadmap agreed during talks in Geneva six months ago can be salvaged.
The diplomatic drive for peace has been plagued by deep divisions within the Security Council between the West and Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's key ally.
The new push comes as Assad was sworn in on Wednesday for a new seven-year term. More than 170,000 people have died in the conflict since 2011.
HH/HH
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