No breakthrough expected at Syria talks, as Russia calls for a pause in bombing

Russia has called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to stop his bombing campaign while peace talks take place this week, but a political breakthrough on the six-year war remains unlikely, the UN's envoy said Wednesday. Staffan de Mistura's comments came on the eve of a new round of talks in Geneva between negotiators from Syria's regime and the opposition after a 10-month hiatus. Persistent violence and deadlock over the country's political future, notably that of Assad, remain major hurdles to peace.

I'm not expecting an immediate breakthrough from this negotiation, but the beginning of a series of rounds that will be able to go much more in depth into the substantive issues.

The Syrian situation has changed both territorially and diplomatically since the last UN-sponsored talks broke up in April 2016, and the rebels are in a significantly weaker position. The government has recaptured the rebel bastion of eastern Aleppo, and the U.S., once staunchly opposed to Assad, has said it is reassessing every aspect of its Syria policy under President Trump. But the toughest issues remain similar to a year ago. The opposition quit the last round of talks in protest at escalating bloodshed and on Wednesday warned that ceasefire violations were once again a problem. A bitter dispute over Assad's fate also continues to divide the camps. The main opposition High Negotiations Committee and other international actors have insisted he must leave office as part of any deal, while Damascus has said the president's future is not open for negotiation. Yet in an interview with Yahoo News, Assad claimed he will leave office “whenever the Syrian people don’t want me."