Syrians Should Focus on Future Beyond Transition Period - UN Official

Parties to the Syrian conflict need to focus on the country’s long-term future when they meet for the intra-Syrian talks, the deputy executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova – The Syrian peace talks are expected to resume after a US-Russian call for the cessation of hostilities in the country was backed by the Syrian government and the main opposition faction on Tuesday.

"Now that we have cessation of hostilities and a clear UN resolution on the roadmap ahead, I think the Syrian talks have become essential <…> But what is missing now is a clear vision for the future," Abdallah Dardari said.

Dardari, who served as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs in Syria until 2011, stressed that the international community could not "design" the future for the Syrian people. "It is up to us to decide on that," he underlined.

During the Syria conference in Vienna last November, the world powers agreed on a roadmap for political transition in Syria that was expected to last for up to two years.

The UN official stressed that the Syrian people should not only see to it that the political transition succeeds but also get a clear perspective of the future beyond that deadline. The transition is expected to end in the creation of a unity government that will draft a new constitution and call free UN-monitored elections within 18 months.