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Syria Talks Fail to Yield Pact to Lift Aid Blockade Syria Talks Fail to Yield Pact to Lift Aid Blockade
(7 months later)
GENEVA — The Syrian government on Monday failed to authorize an international aid convoy to enter blockaded areas in the city of Homs, as the opposition’s Western backers declared that if the delivery was not allowed by next week they would be likely to challenge the government in the United Nations Security Council. GENEVA — The Syrian government on Monday failed to authorize an international aid convoy to enter blockaded areas in the city of Homs, as the opposition’s Western backers declared that if the delivery was not allowed by next week they would be likely to challenge the government in the United Nations Security Council.
United Nations mediators had hoped the aid delivery would serve as a confidence-building measure at the tenuous peace talks here, and the lack of progress sharpened tensions as the opposing Syrian sides clashed over their widely differing views of the basic purpose of the negotiations.United Nations mediators had hoped the aid delivery would serve as a confidence-building measure at the tenuous peace talks here, and the lack of progress sharpened tensions as the opposing Syrian sides clashed over their widely differing views of the basic purpose of the negotiations.
During the third day of face-to-face meetings, according to several people briefed on the talks, a member of the government delegation clashed with the United Nations special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, and denounced the opposition as “illiterate” and “Wahhabis,” an austere Sunni sect that the Syrian government blames for extremism in the insurgency. But both sides said they would keep talking.During the third day of face-to-face meetings, according to several people briefed on the talks, a member of the government delegation clashed with the United Nations special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, and denounced the opposition as “illiterate” and “Wahhabis,” an austere Sunni sect that the Syrian government blames for extremism in the insurgency. But both sides said they would keep talking.
Syrian opposition members called on Russia, the government’s most powerful backer, to increase pressure over aid access, which a Western diplomat called “the lowest-level test” of the government’s good faith in the talks.Syrian opposition members called on Russia, the government’s most powerful backer, to increase pressure over aid access, which a Western diplomat called “the lowest-level test” of the government’s good faith in the talks.
Failing that, Western diplomats said, they might return to the Security Council, where Russia and China have vetoed or diluted calls for aid access and condemnations of the government’s conduct. This time, they said, Russia, with a stake in the peace talks and wanting to burnish its image as the Sochi Olympics open next week, might find it harder to veto.Failing that, Western diplomats said, they might return to the Security Council, where Russia and China have vetoed or diluted calls for aid access and condemnations of the government’s conduct. This time, they said, Russia, with a stake in the peace talks and wanting to burnish its image as the Sochi Olympics open next week, might find it harder to veto.
The opposition denounced a government proposal to allow women and children out of the blockaded Homs areas, calling it a ploy to displace and arrest government opponents.The opposition denounced a government proposal to allow women and children out of the blockaded Homs areas, calling it a ploy to displace and arrest government opponents.
Western diplomats, and even the government-affiliated Syrian Arab Red Crescent, said that the proposal, requiring residents to list all male residents and whether or not they were fighters, was no substitute for aid convoys.Western diplomats, and even the government-affiliated Syrian Arab Red Crescent, said that the proposal, requiring residents to list all male residents and whether or not they were fighters, was no substitute for aid convoys.
The diplomats said that international law required the Syrian government to allow unimpeded aid access without conditions, and gave residents the right to decide whether to stay in their homes.The diplomats said that international law required the Syrian government to allow unimpeded aid access without conditions, and gave residents the right to decide whether to stay in their homes.
A Red Crescent worker in Syria, who requested anonymity in order to avoid reprisals, said, “We don’t feel it is in the best interest of the civilians to separate the families first and escalate violence on what’s left of them inside.”A Red Crescent worker in Syria, who requested anonymity in order to avoid reprisals, said, “We don’t feel it is in the best interest of the civilians to separate the families first and escalate violence on what’s left of them inside.”
In Homs, a civilian resident, Samer, said that no aid or evacuations appeared imminent, and that many residents mistrusted both the government and the insurgents, who they worried would take more than their share of aid. He said he failed to persuade a woman to evacuate with her three children, because she was suspicious of the government’s offer.In Homs, a civilian resident, Samer, said that no aid or evacuations appeared imminent, and that many residents mistrusted both the government and the insurgents, who they worried would take more than their share of aid. He said he failed to persuade a woman to evacuate with her three children, because she was suspicious of the government’s offer.