'Deteriorating' situation in Syria prompts UN revival of Geneva II

Fear of terrorist groups' black flags flying over Damascus, the Syrian capital, has prompted some to "consider reassessing their earlier positions," a top UN official said on Wednesday in revealing new consultations aimed at ending the four-year-old Syrian civil war.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said "Yet for many the conflict continues to be about the Arab Spring calls for change. There is firm recognition that counter-terrorism is a priority."

But, he said "robust progress" on counter-terrorism is linked by some UN member states to a call for a new government in Damascus, specifically the removal of President Bashar al-Assad.

"The situation (in Syria) continues to deteriorate in all respects," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said Wednesday outside the UN Security Council. "The death toll is climbing. Sectarianism and terrorism are spreading and flows of refugees have surpassed four million people."

Both Ban and de Mistura reported to the Council on Wednesday.

More than 260,000 people have been killed and more than 12 million people in total have been displaced since the conflict began during the so-called Arab Spring more than four years ago.

The United Nations now has turned to last year's Geneva communique, with some new twists, as a basis for a political settlement in Syria.

The secretary-general said he asked de Mistura to " operationalize" Geneva II.

The Italian-Swedish diplomat followed orders and "unrolled" what he called the new Geneva Consultations, "A set of structured separate discussions with Syrians and non-Syrian players aimed at 'stress testing' any willingness of narrowing the gaps in interpretation of the principles contained in the Geneva Communique, still the internationally recognized framework for a settlement, even if ambiguous in parts."

Consultations with more than 200 interlocutors -- both Syrian and non-Syrians -- in Geneva and capitals "reveal a generally shared sense of urgency given recent gains by Daesh and al-Nusra Front, talk about fragmentation, radicalization and sectarianism," de Mistura said.

Daesh is the Arabic for the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra is al-Qaida in Syria. "There is thus growing reference to the need for a managed, phased, gradual or controlled transition, avoiding a repeat of Libya or Iraq," the special envoy said. "Ours is a a straightforward interpretation formula for the implementation of the (Geneva) Communique."

However, he admitted the consultations he has held so far confirmed agreement is "difficult in the current Syrian context."

"Many urged us not to convene a Geneva II style intra-Syrian negotiation yet," he said. "This particular formula might also not be acceptable to all the regional actors or even to all the members of this very council."

"We need to move in a direction where Syrians come together to stop the violence and set out on an irreversible path towards a genuine political transition," said de Mistura who claimed the Consultations "got Syrians to again start talking to each other, even if indirectly."

The key aspects the Syrians identified in the first phase of the Consultations, the special envoy said, are safety and protection, political and constitutional issues, military and security issues and public institutions, reconstruction and development.

Working groups on the four main topics will "start generating movement toward a Syrian-owned Framework Document on the implementation of the Geneva Communique," he said.

De Mistura said the Security Council support of the Consultations "Will be critical to convince all Syrian and regional players to get involved."

He also said the Consultations "hold the promise that a set of formal negotiations could convene ... if the political will is there."

But if no such will, he warned there would be "the increasing risk of a multi-generational conflict that, with each passing month, reduces the prospects of ever restoring Syria as a unified state."

After de Mistura spoke in the council chamber, Ban told reporters outside, "He has my full backing and I was encouraged by the many expressions of strong support by council members during our just concluded discussions in the (Security Council) Consultation Room."

The secretary-general took the opportunity to call attention to another crisis in the Middle East, to what he called "the rapidly deteriorating situation in Yemen."

"More than 21 million people -- that is more than 80 percent of the total population -- desperately need assistance to meet their basic needs, yet access remains extremely and unconscionably limited," he said. "I am concerned about further escalation, persistent violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and the potentially destabilizing effects on the region. "

"Despite constant denunciation by the international community, the ground warfare and aerial bombardments have killed thousands of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure," he said. "I urge all parties involved in the Yemeni conflict, from inside and outside the country, to cease all military activities, and allow, unconditionally, humanitarian access to people in need, and resolve all differences through peaceful negotiations."

Asked about Turkey's support for the anti-ISIL coalition, allowing U.S. aircraft involved in the campaign to base in Turkey and Ankara's airstrikes in Syria and its effect on the Consultations, Ban replied, "All the situations in the region are interrelated, therefore we need to ... implement a comprehensive strategy."

"We need to have a concerted, united and comprehensive dealings with this issue," he said, adding that for the Syria Consultations, "We are trying to do it as soon as possible, -- even in September - - so that all these four working groups will be operationalized as soon as possible."