UN Monitor Chief Says Team Will Adapt Syria Mission

The head of the United Nations observer team in Syria says he will adjust the way the monitors work when their mission resumes, with a focus on staying in certain areas for longer periods of time.

Major General Robert Mood told reporters Thursday in Damascus that it is time to stop spreading the team out “too thin” and that the U.N. Security Council will decide on the future of the mission in the coming days and weeks.

“Whatever decision the Security Council makes, the international community’s continued responsibility to the Syrian people is moral as well as political. We cannot and we will not turn our eyes and ears away from your plight,” said Mood. “And we’ll continue our work to find new paths to political dialogue and peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Mood suspended operations on June 16 due to safety risks to the 300 observers in Syria. The United Nations said attackers targeted the observer team several times with gunfire and bombs.

The crisis in Syria is expected to be a major topic Thursday as foreign ministers from France and Turkey meet in Paris and their counterparts from Germany and Russia hold talks in Moscow.

The meetings come a day before France is set to host about 100 delegations for a “Friends of Syria” meeting – one which Russia and China say they will not attend. Neither country appeared at the group’s previous meetings in April and February.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Thursday that while China will not participate in Friday’s talks, the aim of bringing an end to the crisis is important.