The United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said that the possibility of federalism for the war-ravaged country has not been taken off the table for the upcoming peace talks in Geneva.
The latest round of negotiations in the Swiss city, scheduled for Monday (March 14, 2016), coincide with the fifth anniversary of a conflict that started with protests against President Bashar al-Assad before descending into a multi-sided war.
Neither the opposition nor the government has yet confirmed its participation.
Diplomats told the Reuters news agency that major powers close to the UN-brokered talks were discussing the possibility of federal division in Syria that would grant broad autonomy to regional authorities, while maintaining the country’s unity as a single state.
“All Syrians have rejected the division [of Syria] and federalism can be discussed at the negotiations,” de Mistura told Al Jazeera.
He also said that the prospects for reaching a deal to end the war were better than at any time before.
A UN Security Council diplomat told Reuters that a number of major Western powers had been considering the possibility of a federal structure for Syria and had passed on suggestions to de Mistura.
Read the article on Aljazeera.com.
