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Conflict in Syria

Outcome of UN SC vote to have no impact on Geneva talks — Russian envoy

Earlier on Thursday, Russia vetoed the US-backed draft resolution on extending the UN-OPCW investigative mission in Syria in its present form

UN, November 17. /TASS/. The outcome of Thursday’s UN Security Council vote on the mission to Syria will have no impact on reconciliation talks in Geneva, Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya told reporters.

"I don’t think so. Geneva is another matter," he told reporters. "We pin great hopes [on the success of the talks] and wish good luck to the [UN Secretary General’s] special envoy [Staffan de Mistura]. We are trying to be useful in that direction."

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UN Security Council rejects Russian draft on Syria chemical probe

Earlier on Thursday, Russia vetoed the US-backed draft resolution on extending in its present form the mandate of the the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate chemical incidents in Syria. The Russian document, introducing improvements to the mission’s work, failed to get the required number of votes.

During the UN Security Council session, US permanent representative to the UN, Nikki Haley claimed that after Russia blocked the US resolution, it cannot be seen as a reliable partner in the search for the Syrian solution. She also questioned Russia’s initiative on holding a pan-Syrian conference in Sochi, adding that after Russia vetoed the US document its proposal cannot be taken seriously.

The eighth round of intra-Syrian talks under the UN aegis is scheduled to begin on November 28. De Mistura earlier said the discussion will focus on organizing elections and drafting the country’s new constitution. The previous round of talks, which gathered representatives of the Syrian government and three opposition groups (the Cairo, Moscow and Riyadh groups), took place in July.

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Syrian conflict

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