New round of Syria international talks to be held in New York, UN chief says

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that a new round of Syria international talks will be held in New York on Friday. At his year-end press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, the UN chief said: "On Syria, the international community has actively re-engaged in pushing for a political settlement," adding "The International Syria Support Group will meet in New York on Friday, 18 December, followed by a meeting of the Security Council." The move aims to seek a political solution to the longstanding Syrian conflict, which broke out in March 2011 and has killed 250,000 people. "Syria is an open sore on the Middle East and the wider world," Ban said. "We are pressing for a nationwide cease-fire and for the start of negotiations in January on a political transition -- and we must not relent." Parties concerned met in previous two rounds of meetings held in Vienna, Austria in late October and mid-November to seek a roadmap to end the nearly five-year war in Syria. The last Vienna meeting in mid-November set an ambitious deadline. It assigned the United Nations mediator, Staffan de Mistura, the task of organizing talks among the warring Syrian parties by Jan. 1. On Dec. 8, the secretary-general hailed the US announcement that the third round of Syria peace talks will be held in New York on Dec. 18, and underscored the necessity of having a nationwide ceasefire in Syria as soon as possible. At the previous round of Syria talks in Vienna last month, representatives of world and regional powers, including the United States, Russia, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Nations, laid out a broad plan for a political transition in Syria. The world powers also voiced support for establishing a credible, inclusive government in Syria within six months and holding free and fair elections within 18 months. The prolonged war in Syria has triggered a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe.