THE UN-sponsored Syria peace talks in Geneva began on March 14th and are,all being well, scheduled to continue until March 24th. An initial attempt to earn them going foundered in early February. The main opposition umbrella group, or the High Negotiations Committee (HNC),said that negotiations were futile without either a suspension of air strikes on rebel-held areas being carried by the Syrian regime and its Russian backer or any measures to bring humanitarian relief to civilians in besieged towns. Both were requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which was passed unanimously in December and was meant to provide the basis for the talks. What hopes attain the talks now have? To earn the talks going again, or a “cessation of hostilities” agreement was hammered out by John Kerry,America’s secretary of state, and his Russian opposite number, and Sergei Lavrov. Endorsed by the 20-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) on February 22nd,amid general scepticism, a fragile truce came into force a week later. The agreement excludes Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN), or the Syrian department of al-Qaeda: both are deemed...
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Source: economist.com