UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura discussed a new proposal for freezing the fighting in the city of Aleppo during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Muallem in Damascus on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad, Syria’s Permanent Representative to UN Bashar al-Jaafari, Advisor to the Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous, along with with de Mistura’s accompanying delegation.
The initiative, first proposed last October, was presented to President Bashar al-Assad on de Mistura’s latest visit to Syria last November.
President Assad had said the initiative was worthy of study and that further work was needed to pursue its goals of restoring security to Aleppo.
Deputy PM Muallem also received the UN Envoy during the same visit, de Mistura’s second to Syria since his appointment in July.
At a press conference Monday, Muallem confirmed with his Belarusian counterpart that de Mistura’s initiative was focused on Aleppo city itself and not its countryside, making clear the UN envoy was welcomed because the Syrian government wished to implement an agreement to keep Aleppo stable and restore normal life to the city.
The Foreign Minister also noted that de Mistura’s assistant, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, held talks with the Syrian Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Faisal Mikdad.
