It expressed thanks for his “tireless commitment” to a political solution for the Syrian conflict and called on the parties to “return to the negotiating table”. It also expressed support for the idea a constitutional committee for Syria.
“In this extremely complex context, Staffan de Mistura has always represented hope and shown great diplomatic finesse,” Swiss UN ambassador in Geneva Valentin Zellweger told the Keystone-SDA news agency. “Switzerland reiterates its support to the United Nations in its search for peace.”
De Mistura, who has been UN special envoy to Syria for more than four years, announced on Wednesday that he would step down at the end of November. The 71-year-old Italian-Swedish diplomat said this was for personal reasons. He said he would use the remaining time to try to make progress on a constitutional committee for Syria which would be tasked with drafting a new constitution.
The Syrian conflict which started in 2011 has left hundreds of thousands dead, while many more have been displaced or fled the country.
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Syria: what will it take to make peace?
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Lots of waiting, with very little outcome. Geneva correspondent Imogen Foulkes explains the hard reality of Syrian peace talks going nowhere.
Swiss institute hosted informal talks between Russians, Ukrainians and Americans
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The Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) has hosted 10 meetings between Russian and Ukrainian interlocutors since the start of the war.
Automated driving on Swiss motorways is theoretically possible from March
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It will be theoretically possible to hand over the steering wheel to technology but no such system has been submitted for official approval yet.
Heated atmosphere at Swiss rally against AfD politician Alice Weidel
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Around 250 people demonstrated "against the right" and the German AfD politician Alice Weidel on Saturday afternoon in Einsiedeln.
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The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
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The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Syrian civil society meets in Geneva to discuss peace
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With war still raging in Syria and official peace talks on hold, a quiet peace initiative is continuing behind the scenes in Geneva.
Syria and mediator trade blame as peace talks fail
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Speaking on Swiss public television RTS on Thursday evening, de Mistura said Putin should convince the Bashar Al-Assad government to accept a new constitution and new elections to “win the peace”. Responding in New York, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General reiterated full support for de Mistura. This came as the latest round of…
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Here is a short guide to the sixth round of the intra-Syrian peace negotiations, which are taking place in Geneva and set to run from May 16-19.
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