UN’s Syria envoy sees hope in Aleppo fighting freeze
Staffan de Mistura tells Al Jazeera that as a “chronic optimist”, he hopes a plan to halt attacks temporarily will work.
A day after he announced that the Syrian government is willing to suspend bombardment of Aleppo for six weeks, the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, sat down with Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays.
Asked about the chances for the “fighting freeze” to succeed, de Mistura said it is his job to give a chance to every opportunity to reduce the violence in Syria and find an entry point for some kind of political process.
“I have a terrible chronic disease which I’ve been trying to treat for many years … It is chronic optimism,” he said. “I will therefor always try to see, even in a glimmer of hope, a chance to push forward.”