Internal solution for Syria would be better: UN chief

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

An internal solution to the problems in Syria “would be much better,” the head of the United Nations said on Jan. 16.

“If Syrians could solve their own problems it would be much better,” U.N. chief Antonio Guterres told reporters during a news conference at the U.N. headquarters. 

Guterres emphasized that the Geneva process must be revived and said a military solution would be an answer for the crisis in Syria.

Peace talks were launched in Geneva in 2012 to find a political solution to the conflict, while Astana talks began in 2017 toward a cease-fire that has been fragile to date.

Gutteres’ comments comes on the heels of an announcement by U.S.-led coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon about plans to establish a 30,000-strong border security force in Syria with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed group largely made up of People’s Protection Units (YPG) elements, a group Turkey considers terrorist for links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).