"This cannot be a coincidence," UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura commented. "We hope and we want to believe that these talks would help us move to the next stage."
After Kerry’s visit to Moscow was announced on March 15, the talks which opened a day earlier made no progress. At the same time, de Mistura underscored that the ceasefire in Syria is observed and humanitarian aid is supplied.
"No one slammed doors, went in for dramatics or rejected the legitimacy of the other side," he added.
As a result of the negotiations, de Mistura handed to the parties a document of 12 points approved by both delegations. But he once again dodged the issue of Bashar Assad’s future.
Meanwhile, in Moscow John Kerry took part in a "negotiating marathon to find common points with his Russian counterparts." His meeting with Lavrov lasted for four hours, and he spent another four hours, talking to Putin. Later on the day, at a press conference Kerry announced that he and Putin had agreed on the need to pressure Damascus and the opposition over the power transition.
Nevertheless, during the Moscow talks Russia and the US failed to reach a compromise on Assad’s future, the article added.
The fact that the Geneva peace process is continuing is positive though, Elena Suponina, an expert on the Middle East, told RIA Novosti. A document of 12 points has been worked out, and this could be regarded as positive results.
She noted that the document does not bring up the political future of Bashar Assad.
"This is what Russia has insisted on – to take this problem off the table and focus efforts on the humanitarian crisis and the fight against terrorism," she said.
"We can say that the future of the intra-Syrian talks is being determined in Moscow," Suponina said.
As for Syrian Kurds in the talks, their representatives as well as Moscow are insisting on their participation in the talks. But this has been opposed by both Damascus and the opposition.
"These obstacles will remain in place, but at the same time the future of Syria cannot be discussed without Kurds," she added.
