New Initiative by UN for Peace Process in Syria

* Photograph: Anadolu Agency

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Air strikes against Idlib, where the Damascus government has been planning to launch an operation into, have been continuing. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that over 150 air strikes have been launched on the city over the weekend.

It has also been reported that the strikes have escalated in the wake of Tehran Summit, which was held by President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on September 7 and failed to produce any results.

CLICK - Erdoğan, Putin, Rouhani Convene

Having stated that a possible attack on Idlib could have tragic consequences in late August, the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has started a new mediation initiative in Syria.

Negotiations will continue for 2 days

De Mistura will meet representatives from Iran, Russia and Turkey today (September 10) and tomorrow. It has been stated that on the first day (today), Mistura will meet the representatives separately. On the second day, a joint meeting will be held.

While the establishment of a parliament on constitutional grounds has been cited as one of the items on the agenda, de Mistura has said that with these negotiations, "they hope to revitalize the political peace process for Syria."

De Mistura has added that after meeting the representatives from Russia, Turkey and Iran, he will meet representatives from Western countries.

In one of his previous statements, de Mistura also stated that "in case the negotiations on September 10-11 are beneficial, he believes that negotiations with the Syrian opposition and Assad government could also be started again." (PT/SD)