Peace Talks Making Little Progress, Says Envoy

Reuters reports that Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. mediator of this week’s Geneva talks, has said that they aren’t making progress.

“There had been hopes for Tuesday’s talks after they began with a minute’s silence for the 130,000 people killed since the conflict began,” the wire writes. But Brahimi “told a news conference the second round so far was as ‘laborious’ as the first. ‘We are not making much progress,’ he said.

“Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said Tuesday was a ‘lost day’ while opposition spokesman Louay Safi said ‘no progress’ had been made. The talks have been held up over the agenda, with the opposition wanting first to discuss plans for a transitional government, and the government insisting the first issue must be fighting terrorism: a word it uses for all armed rebels.

“In an attempt to break the deadlock, Brahimi had proposed that they use Tuesday to discuss ending the violence and Wednesday to raise formation of a transitional governing body,” but it has not yet been agreed to by both sides.

Fate of Hundreds of Men Evacuated From Homs in Doubt

Sam Dagher of the Wall Street Journal reports from Homs on the uncertain fate of hundreds of male evacuees “who were detained by the Syrian regime as soon as they were rescued, said the top United Nations official here, who said the U.N. now has no control over their fate.

“About a third of the nearly 1,160 people evacuated from the besieged enclave between Friday and Monday were immediately detained by Syrian authorities. The U.N. said about 400 men between the ages of 15 and 54 were detained by Syrian authorities as presumed combatants as soon as they came out of the old quarter of Homs, which regime forces have bombarded for more than 18 months,” Dagher writes.

“About 100 of them were released on an amnesty on Tuesday and several hundred remain in custody in a school in a regime-controlled section of the city, according to the U.N. and local officials. Homs Governor Talal al Barazi said the military-age men who left the old quarter have effectively surrendered because they were fully informed before they were brought out by the U.N. what the procedures affecting them would be.

“‘They wished to get out and they put themselves at the disposal of the government and relevant authorities,’ he said. ‘The goal is to return Syrian citizens to the state’s bosom.’”

Obama Acknowledges That Diplomacy Is Failing in Syria

The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that diplomacy, the “main pillar” of its Syria policy, is failing.

“Negotiations between the Syrian government and parts of the opposition are ‘far from achieving’ a peaceful end to the conflict,” Obama said during a press conference with visiting French leader Francoise Hollande, and in Geneva, “the United Nations envoy leading the talks said they aren’t getting anywhere.

“’With each passing day, more people inside of Syria are suffering,’ Obama said. ‘The state of Syria itself is crumbling. That is bad for Syria. It is bad for the region. It is bad for global national security, because what we know is, is that there are extremists who have moved into the vacuum in certain portions of Syria in a way that could threaten us over the long term.’

“The president’s dire assessment, and an acknowledged dearth of policy options, created one of the most dismal pictures to date of Syria’s violent disintegration and the administration’s inability to affect events. Obama ruled out direct U.S. military intervention, at least for now, but offered no new substitute” to address the conflict.

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:

Reuters: Russia Says Will Veto Aid Resolution in Current Form

NY Times: New Round of Syria Talks Off to A Slow Start

PBS: Frontline Looks at Rebel Fight Against Jihadists in Syria

LA Times: Evacuation of Homs Continues Amid Ceasefire

AFP: Syria Foes Start Third Day of Talks

Reuters: Syrian Forces Press Assault Near Lebanon Border