U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura waits with participants of Syria peace talks before a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations is no longer using the phrase "political transition" to describe the goals of next week's Syria peace talks, in a potentially major concession to negotiators representing President Bashar al-Assad.
"Political transition" is a phrase understood by the opposition to mean a removal of Assad or at least an erosion of his powers. But his government has rejected any suggestion that it could be on the table, and at previous peace talks in Geneva his negotiators consistently tried to steer away from it.
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