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| Syria talks end on a note of uncertainty | Syria talks end on a note of uncertainty |
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| BEIRUT — U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi apologized to the Syrian people Saturday as a second round of peace talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war concluded with uncertainty. | BEIRUT — U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi apologized to the Syrian people Saturday as a second round of peace talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war concluded with uncertainty. |
| After six days of fractious negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva, no date was set for a new round of talks. The discussions so far have produced little in the way of tangible results. | After six days of fractious negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva, no date was set for a new round of talks. The discussions so far have produced little in the way of tangible results. |
| The latest round of talks has been bogged down in disagreements over the agenda. The Syrian government has insisted that talks focus first on ending terrorism, while the opposition’s priority is discussions on a political transition. | |
| After a last-ditch attempt Saturday to find a way out of the impasse, Brahimi said the government had rejected his proposed agenda for a new round of talks, leaving their prospects unclear. | After a last-ditch attempt Saturday to find a way out of the impasse, Brahimi said the government had rejected his proposed agenda for a new round of talks, leaving their prospects unclear. |
| “It’s not good for Syria that we come back for another round and fall in the same trap that we have been struggling with this week and most of the first round,” he said. Describing the discussions as “laborious,” he suggested that both sides break to think about whether they really want to engage in the process. | “It’s not good for Syria that we come back for another round and fall in the same trap that we have been struggling with this week and most of the first round,” he said. Describing the discussions as “laborious,” he suggested that both sides break to think about whether they really want to engage in the process. |
| Amid the stalemate, the United Nations has held trilateral talks with representatives from the United States and Russia in an attempt to kick-start negotiations. Brahimi said he hoped U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would meet soon to find a way to proceed. | |
| While the two sides have wrangled in Geneva, the government has also been accused of stepping up attacks on the ground in Syria, conducting devastating aerial campaigns against the northern city of Aleppo and rebel-held areas near the Lebanese border. | While the two sides have wrangled in Geneva, the government has also been accused of stepping up attacks on the ground in Syria, conducting devastating aerial campaigns against the northern city of Aleppo and rebel-held areas near the Lebanese border. |
| According to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 3,400 people have been killed since the first round of talks began in Geneva on Feb. 21, the fastest pace of deaths during the war so far. | According to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 3,400 people have been killed since the first round of talks began in Geneva on Feb. 21, the fastest pace of deaths during the war so far. |
| A humanitarian cease-fire in Homs has been presented as a bright spot, although that had been under discussion for months. Brahimi said the modest progress in Homs had given the Syrian people hope that the process could bear fruit. | A humanitarian cease-fire in Homs has been presented as a bright spot, although that had been under discussion for months. Brahimi said the modest progress in Homs had given the Syrian people hope that the process could bear fruit. |
| “I apologize to them that, on these two rounds, we haven’t helped them very much,” he said. | |
| Meanwhile, both sides have blamed each other for the breakdown. Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, said the government had accepted the agenda but had issues with the opposition’s unrealistic interpretation of it. Opposition spokesman Louay Safi blamed the government’s “belligerence.” |