On Monday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura met with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and HNC General Coordinator Riyad Hijab. After meeting with the envoy, Gentiloni said the renewal of intra-Syrian talks would be more possible if the United States, Russia and other members of the international community make steps forward.
"They can, and we expect them to do so. They can re-state commitment to the UN resolution that they passed, on the cessation of hostilities," Aridi said, asked whether Russia and the United States should take any steps before the start of the next round of talks.
On February 26, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2268, endorsing the cessation of hostilities agreement brokered by the United States and Russia as Co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group. The next day, ceasefire entered into force.
The latest round of intra-Syrian talks took place in Geneva in April. At that time, HNC suspended its participation in the talks over the ceasefire violations on the ground in Syria, which it blames the Syrian government for.
