Reaching a solution in Syria is a “mission impossible,” but it needs to be done, according to Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria. “There is no golden formula…mission impossible…but [finding a solution] needs to be done,” Mistura told the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday. Mistura urged for a ”freeze” in Aleppo, such as stopping fighting and the use of heavy weapons. Having seen 21 conflict zones in 43 years, Mistura said he had ”never seen something like Homs. It is completely vacated, completely destroyed, hit everywhere,” Mistura said. “We can’t afford that. We are here to fight for the sake of mission impossible,” he added.
The Syrian Coalition stresses that De Mistura’s plan must include a comprehensive political settlement in accordance with the principles of the Geneva declaration, pointing out that “it important to ensure that de Mistura’s plans avoided the risk that the Assad regime would misuse them to make military gains and further terrorize the civilian population.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
