BEIRUT—The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that peace talks won’t resume in Geneva on Feb. 25 as he had previously hoped, as Turkey intensified cross border shelling Friday on areas dominated by Syria’s main predominantly Kurdish militia.
De Mistura told Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet that he cannot “realistically” get the parties in the Syrian conflict back to the table by then, “but we intend to do so soon.”
De Mistura halted the latest talks on Feb. 3, because of major differences between the two sides, exacerbated by increased aerial bombings and a wide military offensive by Syrian troops and their allies under the cover of Russian airstrikes.
U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura after a session of Syrian peace talks with the Syrian government delegation at the U.N. Offices in Geneva on Jan. 29, 2016. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
