Syria talks may not yield breakthrough: United Nations envoy

United Nations: As talks on the crisis in Syria kicked off in Geneva, the UN Special Envoy for the war-torn country acknowledged he is not expecting a breakthrough but the proactive momentum needs to be sustained.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said in Geneva yesterday it is critical that the momentum provided by the negotiations "outpace" those that wished to see the negotiations come to nothing.

"There are spoilers, we have seen it all the time during the last talks and perhaps they may even be attempting or tempted to (do) something before or during the talks to provoke one side or the other to walk out," he said.

"I am not expecting a breakthrough, but I am expecting and determined for keeping a very proactive momentum," de Mistura added, highlighting the need to "outpace" those wished to "spoil" the negotiations and see that it come to nothing.

"There is a rush between us and the spoilers (...) we have to outpace those few but clear spoilers with momentum on the political track," he added.

On the eve of the UN-facilitated negotiations between the parties to the conflict in Syria, de Mistura said he would be continuing to push for a resolution to the conflict based on a Security Council resolution that endorsed a road map for peace process in war-battered Middle East nation, including non-sectarian governance, a new constitution and free and fair elections.

The UN envoy said that while the ceasefire remained fragile, it was largely holding and noted that "we would not have been able to have these talks if there was a breakdown of the cease-fire."

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien reiterated to the Security Council yesterday that there is no humanitarian or military solution to the Syrian conflict.

"A genuine political commitment to peace will be needed if 2017 is to offer any different prospect than the death and destruction of the past six years," he added, emphasising the need for fighting to stop.

The conflict, now into its sixth year, has left hundreds of thousands of women, men and children dead and millions more dependent on aid both within the country and beyond Syria?s borders.

However, humanitarian actors continue face myriad challenges in reaching those most in need.

He also underlined that the conflict has taken its worst toll on children: thousands have been killed and maimed or have lost their parents to the violence. Many more have suffered physical and psychological trauma, forced into early marriages and lag years behind in school.

The formal education system has lost about 150,000 education personnel and one in three schools in the country have been damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible, and 5.82 million children and youth from pre-school to secondary school-age are in need of education assistance inside Syria.

"Millions of battered and beleaguered women, men and children depend on meaningful action and the constructive engagement by the Syrian parties and their allies (...) to assure Syrians that an end to the conflict may finally be within reach," the UN relief chief said.