Syria talks failure a ‘serious setback’: Britain’s Hague

Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague on Saturday blamed Bashar al-Assad’s regime for the breakdown in talks between Syria’s warring sides, calling the situation a “serious setback” for peace.
“The failure to agree an agenda for future rounds of talks… is a serious setback in the search for peace in Syria, and the responsibility for it lies squarely with the Assad regime,” Hague said in a statement.
A second round of peace talks broke off Saturday without making any progress and without a date being set for a third round, UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Geneva.
“It is also now more urgent than ever to move forward with a UN Security Council resolution that addresses the appalling humanitarian suffering in Syria. The people in Syria’s besieged areas and the many parts of the country not receiving any aid cannot wait,” Hague said.
The opposition has insisted that the focus of the talks must be on creating a transitional government, without Assad.