UN Syria Envoy tells Security Council there are 'possibilities for progress' on peace talks

UN Syria Envoy Geir Pedersen said that he sees "possibilities for progress" on Syria in 2022 in a briefing to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Monday.

Noting that Syria was still a long way away from implementing UNSC Resolution 2254, which provides for a political solution to the Syrian war, he said there was hope for the wider political process.

Pedersen said that the current status quo in Syria is "unacceptable" with 14 million people in the country in need of "(humanitarian) assistance" - the highest number since the beginning of the war in 2011.

He also said that the country has been locked in a stalemate for 21 months - a situation which proved that a "military solution" to the Syria conflict is an "illusion".

The current quagmire should motivate all parties to work towards a political solution, he said.

Pedersen said that in recent months he had been meeting with political leaders for "bilateral consultations" in order to create progress towards a political solution.

He has met with officials from Russia, the EU, Turkey, and Qatar so far, and said that meetings with other relevant countries would take place into 2022.

He added that a seventh round of the Constitutional Committee would be scheduled as soon as understandings were reached between opposition and regime delegations to the talks.