UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The top UN envoy for Syria on Tuesday urged the rival international players in Syria to bridge the divides that have blocked any moves toward peace, but the chasm remained too deep for the Security Council to take any action. Both draft press statements Tuesday referred to the need to adhere to a council resolution adopted in December 2015 that unanimously endorsed a road map to peace in Syria. It was approved in Geneva on June 30, 2012, by representatives of the United Nations, Arab League, European Union, Turkey and all five permanent Security Council members — the US, Russia, China, France and Britain. At a Russian-hosted Syrian peace conference in January 2018, an agreement was reached to form a 150-member committee to draft a new constitution, which took until September 2019. A 45-member committee known as the “Small Body” has been meeting, unable so far to launch the drafting process.

Source: Egypt Independent February 10, 2021 08:26 UTC