Photo:
Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moualem (C) spoke to the media after futile talks.
(AFP: Philippe Desmazes)
Peace talks aimed at ending the Syrian conflict have
wrapped up in Geneva, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of
a firm agreement.
"The gap between the sides remains wide. There
is no use pretending otherwise," said United Nations Arab mediator
Lakhdar Brahimi, who has tirelessly pursued a peace deal that other
diplomats consider "mission impossible".
Neither the Syrian government or the opposition has been willing to budge from their main positions.
The government wants to talk about fighting "terrorism" - a word it uses to refer to all its armed foes.
Syrian
foreign minister Walid al-Moualem blamed the lack of tangible results
on what he called the immaturity and narrow composition of the
opposition delegation, as well as US interference.
"There are huge divides between (the opposition delegation) and what happening on the ground in Syria," he said.
"They are not in touch with what is taking place in Syria... and have no control over anybody on ground."
The
opposition wanted the talks to focus on a transitional administration
it says will remove President Bashar al-Assad from power.
The
Friends of Syria, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab states,
blamed the Syrian government for the lack of diplomatic headway.
"It
must not further obstruct substantial negotiations and it must engage
constructively in the second round of negotiations," the group said in a
statement.
Syria opposition parties: explained
There is a growing number of opposition groups to president Bashar al-Assad, making for a deeply confusing situation.
With so many groups adding their names to those opposing the current regime, take a look at some of the most prominent.
Expectations had always been low for a breakthrough
on political issues at the talks, the first between
Assad's
representatives and his foes in an almost three-year-old conflagration
that has killed 130,000 Syrians and driven a third of the population
from their homes.
The sides could not even achieve more modest
goals, such as an agreement to allow aid convoys into Homs, where
thousands of civilians are trapped with no access to food or medicine.
"Homs was extensively discussed, although unfortunately there has been no breakthrough yet," Mr Brahimi said.
Still,
the sides took a first tentative step forward on Wednesday by agreeing
to use a 2012 document as a basis for discussions.
Furthermore,
Mr Brahimi said he had observed some common ground between the opposing
delegations and simply having them sharing the same room has been a
minor victory.
"Progress is very slow indeed, but the sides have engaged in an acceptable manner," he said.
Mr Brahimi said the opposition delegation would be back in 10 days for a second round of talks.
But Mr Assad's delegates had told him they would have to check with Damascus before agreeing to return.
"They
didn't tell me that they are thinking of not coming. On the contrary,
they said that they would come but they needed to check with their
capital," Mr Brahimi told a news conference.
US State Department
said the Syrian government "continues to play games" with its
non-committal stance to future talks, while the opposition had shown it
was serious in pledging to return to the table.
"The people of Syria are watching and will determine who truly has their best interests at heart," said spokesman Edgar Vasquez.
"The Syrian people, who have suffered so much, deserve constructive engagement now and in the next round," Mr Vazquez said.
Chemical weapons delay
Darkening the atmosphere further, the US and Russia clashed over the pace of Syria's handover of chemical arms for destruction.
"The
United States is concerned that the Syrian government is behind in
delivering these chemical weapons precursor materials on time with the
schedule that was agreed to," said US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Moscow rejected the US accusations and blamed security on the road to the Mediterranean coast for the delays.
"We
see that the Syrians are approaching the fulfilment of their
obligations seriously and in good faith," said Russian Foreign Ministry
official Mikhail Ulyanov, according to Interfax news agency.
"Our
American partners, in their usual manner, are betting on pressure even
in those cases where there is absolutely no need for it."
There
have been reports earlier in the week that Syria had given up less than
five per cent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss a deadline
next week to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction.
Relentless carnage
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group,
said 1,870 people had been killed during the week of talks, including
450 civilians and 40 who died from inadequate access to food and
medicine in areas besieged by government troops.
With few
achievements on substance, diplomats say the priority now is just to
keep the talks process going in the hope that rigid positions can be
modified over time.
Mr Assad's forces have recaptured territory,
reducing pressure on him to compromise. Western states that once
brandished the threat of intervening against him abandoned such plans
last year.
The insurgents have become increasingly divided and
Islamic militants have gained power on the ground - they refused to
attend the talks.
The United Nations invited Mr Assad's main Middle East ally Iran at the last minute, then reversed and revoked the offer.
Thursday's
final negotiating session began with a rare gesture of harmony when all
sides observed a minute's silence for the 130,000 people killed during
the war.
"All stood up for the souls of the martyrs. Symbolically it was good," said opposition delegate Ahmad Jaka
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