UN resolution on Syria creates a framework – but one with yawning gaps

Security council resolution 2254 is an ambitious document. It puts a UN imprimatur on a timetable of six months to create a transitional, united Syrian government and 18 months for a new constitution and democratic elections.

In addition to this sequencing, it adds elements that are critical if the peace plan is to become real. The question of Bashar al-Assad’s future was put to one side earlier this year – otherwise the talks would never have got off the ground. It was agreed that the question of leadership would ultimately be decided by elections, but who would control those elections and what would the rules be? The resolution addresses those questions for the first time.