Syria ketua pembangkang perunding Hadi al- Bahra (2 dariKanan) dan Ketua Setiausaha Syria Majlis Badr Jamous (4ht dariKanan) tiba dengan delegasi pembangkang untuk menghadiri mesyuarat di "Geneva II" rundingan damai khusus untuk konflik yang berterusan di Syria, pada 25 Januari 2014, di Geneva (AFP Photo – think IN pictures @1WORLD Community)
SitiWanMahani – Walaupun wakil-wakil Presiden Syria Bashar Assad dan pihak pembang-kang ditukar kenyataan terbuka pahit dan emosi di rundingan Geneva 2, mereka telah setakat ini gagal untuk benar-benar berkomunikasi, Minster Luar Rusia Sergey Lavrov berkata pada hari Sabtu.
“Tidak ada pergelutan di sana. Saya tidak perasan komunikasi sama ada,” Lavrov mem-beritahu saluran TV Russia ketika mengulas keadaan di ceramah dinanti-nantikan di Switzerland Montreux.
Kenyataan daripada kerajaan dan disokong Barat Gabungan Negara “kedua-duanya keras dan emosi,” kata Lavrov . Pada siang hari pertama perbincangan pada 22 Januari, wakil-wakil kedua-dua pihak duduk di antara satu sama lain tetapi “Saya percaya kedua-dua mereka mencari dalam teks [ucapan mereka],” diplomat atas Rusia dinyatakan.
Rundingan Geneva 2 pada mulanya dicadangkan oleh Rusia dan Amerika Syarikat pada Mei 2013.
“Hakikat bahawa lebih daripada lapan bulan berlalu sejak inisiatif Rusia-Amerika telah dikemukakan pada 7 Mei 2013 menunjukkan bahawa walaupun dengan politik Moscow dan Washington perkara-perkara yang tidak bergerak secepat kami ingin,” kata Lavrov.
Dialog antara kerajaan Syria dan pembangkang perlu diperbesarkan untuk membuat ia “benar-benar wakil,” tambah menteri itu.
Persidangan - yang telah membawa bersama-sama wakil-wakil kira-kira 40 negara, bersama-sama dengan PBB, Kesatuan Eropah, Liga Arab, dan Pertubuhan Kerjasama Islam - setakat ini membuahkan hasil sedikit, dengan kedua-dua pihak enggan berganjak isu-isu penting.
Walau bagaimanapun, hanya menguruskan untuk membawa kedua-dua pihak untuk rundingan telah dilihat sebagai tanda kejayaan yang ketara di jalan raya untuk menamatkan perang saudara di negara ini.
Selepas pertemuan awal Rabu, yang melibatkan ucapan dari menteri-menteri luar, telah dipersetujui bahawa kerajaan dan pembangkang delegasi akan mengadakan perbin-cangan langsung pada hari Jumaat. Tetapi ia tidak sehingga Sabtu - selepas hari tuduhan dan kelewatan - bahawa musuh akhirnya berhadapan antara satu sama lain di meja rundingan itu di Ibu Pejabat Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu di Geneva.
Kedua-dua pihak duduk dengan senyap selama setengah jam manakala orang tengah PBB Lakhdar Brahimi menyatakan perancangan beliau, yang termasuk seorang Fokus kepada bantuan kemanusiaan diikuti dengan rundingan politik untuk menyelesaikan konflik itu, Reuters melaporkan. Kedua-dua pihak kemudiannya meninggalkan bilik melalui pintu yang berbeza. Kedua-dua pihak tidak dijangka terus bercakap dalam mesyuarat itu.
“Kami belum mencapai banyak tetapi kita masih diteruskan,” kata Brahimi, mengakhiri mesyuarat lewat pada hari Sabtu. Beliau menyifatkan perkembangan itu sebagai “setengah – langkah” dan bukannya langkah-langkah, tetapi menambah bahawa rundin-gan akan diteruskan.
Delegasi pembangkang berharap untuk mencapai perjanjian gencatan senjata pendek pada hari Ahad, yang akan membolehkan konvoi kemanusiaan untuk bergerak ke kawasan pemberontak- diadakan mengepung di bandar Homs, barat Syria.
“Kami memberi tumpuan kepada membuka koridor kemanusiaan untuk membenarkan makanan dan perubatan untuk tiba untuk rakyat. Terdapat kawasan di Syria yang tidak pernah melihat apa-apa makanan dan perubatan bagi lapan bulan lalu,” kata jurucakap Syria Gabungan Kebangsaan Louay Safi selepas mesyuarat itu, AP melaporkan .
Sabtu dan Ahad rundingan sedang diadakan sebagai permulaan untuk rundingan damai pada 26 Januari.
“Rundingan akan bermula pada hari Isnin dan rundingan ini adalah kira-kira membentuk satu badan pentadbiran peralihan,” kata Safi.
‘No scuffle, no communication’ between Syria
foes in Geneva - Lavrov
Though representatives of Syrian President Bashar Assad and opposition forces exchanged bitter and emotional open statements at the Geneva 2 talks, they have so far failed to actually communicate, Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday.
“There was no scuffle there. I haven’t noticed communication either,” Lavrov told a Russian TV channel while commenting on the situation at the long awaited talks in Switzerland’s Montreux.
Statements from the government and the Western-backed National Coalition “were both harsh and emotional,” Lavrov said. During the first day of talks on January 22, representatives of the two sides sat across from each other but “I believe they were both looking in the texts [of their speeches],” the Russian top diplomat stated.
The Geneva 2 talks were initially proposed by Russia and the US in May 2013.
“The fact that more than eight months passed since the Russian-American initiative was put forth on May 7, 2013 indicates that even with the political will of Moscow and Washington things are not moving as fast as we would like,” Lavrov said.
Dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition needs to be enlarged to make it “truly representative,” the minister added.
The conference - which has brought together representatives of about 40 states, along with the UN, the EU, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation - has so far yielded little result, with both sides refusing to budge on key issues.
However, simply managing to bring both sides to the talks has been seen as a sign of significant success on the road to end the country’s civil war.
Following Wednesday's initial meeting, which involved speeches from foreign ministers, it was agreed that the government and opposition delegations would hold direct talks on Friday. But it wasn’t until Saturday - after a day of accusations and delays - that the foes finally faced each other at the negotiating table at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.
The two parties sat in silence for half an hour while UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi set out his plans, which included an immediate focus on humanitarian aid followed by political talks to resolve the conflict, Reuters reported. Both sides then left the room through different doors. The two sides were not expected to directly speak at the meeting.
“We haven't achieved much but we are continuing,” Brahimi said, wrapping up the meeting later on Saturday. He described the progress as being “half-steps” rather than steps, but added that the talks will continue.
The opposition delegation hopes to reach a short ceasefire agreement on Sunday, which would allow a humanitarian convoy to move into the besieged rebel-held areas in the city of Homs, western Syria.
"We are focusing on opening humanitarian corridors to allow food and medicine to arrive to people. There are areas in Syria that haven't seen any food and medicine for the last eight months,” Syrian National Coalition spokesman Louay Safi said after the meeting, AP reported.
The Saturday and Sunday consultations are being held as a prelude to peace talks on January 26.
“Negotiations will start on Monday and these negotiations are about forming a transitional governing body,” Safi said.
READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/002005
