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afp / Reuters
Rome
The UN envoy for Syria said on Monday a"crucial moment"had been reached in attempts to broker a political settlement to end a five year war and defeat the IS.
"Between now and September we have a window to find a formula which combines the fights against Daesh and Al-Nusra and the political transition,"Staffan de Mistura said.
The comment, made following a Rome meeting between de Mistura and Italy's Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, appeared to push back an August 1 deadline set for political transition by the international group backing the Syrian peace process.
"It is a crucial moment,"he said, adding that"the key lies in a possible agreement between Russia and the United States".
"They have proved themselves to be able to agree and the others will adapt,"he said, referring to previous successes such as a truce in February between regime and non-jihadist rebel groups which was brokered by Russia and the United States.
Talks on the political transition have stumbled over the fate of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad with the opposition insisting that he must quit.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-backed main Syrian opposition body, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told Mistura in Rome that it was premature to set a date for fresh peace talks he was seeking ahead of an August deadline for the warring parties to present outlines of a political deal.
"There is a need to adopt a new strategy to push the peace process by adopting a tougher policy against the regime's violations against the Syrian people ... before calling for a new round of negotiations," the HNC statement said.
The UN-backed talks, aimed at ending a war which has left more than 280,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes, are in theory set to resume this month. The last round of talks held in Geneva ended in late April without any breakthrough.
