Vienna Meeting Fails to Set New Date for Peace Talks

World powers failed to reach agreement on a new date to resume the Syrian peace talks in Geneva during Tuesday’s meeting in Vienna.

In addition, Syrian opposition representatives said they would not return to the negotiating table unless conditions on the ground improved.

Little was achieved in Tuesday’s meeting between world powers, including allies of embattled President Bashar al-Assad such as Russia and Iran and rebel-backing powers such as the U.S. and the Arab League, according to Reuters.

The meeting was planned in the hope of finding a way to revive the crumbling truce that was established February 27 and to set a possible date to resume peace talks in Geneva.

Following the meeting, a joint statement by the attendees called for a full cessation of hostilities and urged the U.N. World Food Program to airdrop humanitarian aid to besieged areas starting June 1, in case humanitarian access was denied by either the government or rebel groups.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said at a news conference there was still a strong desire to keep the peace process in motion.

“We want to keep the momentum. The exact date, I am not at the moment revealing it because it will depend also on other facts,” he said.

On the opposition side, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said it was not willing to return to negotiations without a full truce and full access to humanitarian aid.

“I don’t think there will be results, and if there are any results they will not be sufficient for the Syrian people,” HNC chief negotiator Asaad al-Zoubi said ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.

“The HNC has said that if aid does not reach everybody, if the sieges aren’t lifted and if a full truce does not happen, there will be no negotiations.”

Erdogan Threatens to Take Action on Syrian Border

Turkey’s frustration with attacks on the border town of Kilis by the so-called Islamic State group led President Erdogan to threaten on Tuesday that he would take matters into his own hands if he receives no help from the international coalition.

“We will overcome the Islamic State. We will solve that issue ourselves if we don’t receive help to prevent those rockets from hitting Kilis,” Erdogan said at a meeting in Istanbul, according to Reuters.

“We knocked on all doors for a safe zone at our southern border. But no one wants to take that step. If the world fails to agree on decisive action against terrorist organizations, the world will no longer be a safe place.”

Kilis has frequently been targeted across the border by rocket fire from ISIS-controlled areas of Syria in the past several months, killing at least 21 people. While Turkey has repeatedly retaliated, Turkish officials say Ankara needs more help from the U.S.-led coalition.

Former U.S. Ambassador Predicts Assad to Stay in Power

“Without greater military pressure on the Syrian government, it will not negotiate a compromise political settlement,” the former diplomat said at a congressional hearing.

“The United States lacks leverage with the armed opposition because it – and its regional backers – view us as inconsistent at best,” Mr. Ford told a Senate foreign relations committee hearing.

According to the Washington Times, the former ambassador stressed that Russia’s military intervention in support of the Assad regime had reduced chances to end the five-year war.

During his testimony Tuesday, Mr. Ford urged Washington to accept more Syrian refugees to the U.S. and to press Turkey and Jordan to keep their borders open for the influx of displaced Syrians.

Robert S. Ford served as U.S. ambassador to Syria from 2010, and resigned from his post in 2014.

Recommended Reads:

• Al-Arabiya: Hezbollah’s Vulnerability in Syria: Open Exposure to Many Enemies
• U.S. Department of State: Statement of the International Syria Support Group
• USA Today: ISIL Loses 45 Percent of Territory in Iraq, 20 Percent in Syria
• The World Post: Bashar Assad Thwarts Humanitarian Aid to Syria’s Kurds
• The Los Angeles Times: World Powers Call for ‘Air Bridge’ to Get Humanitarian Supplies Into Syria