ISTANBUL, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure on all fronts in war-torn Syria.
Civilians are paying the "highest price" in the Syrian war that has lasted eight years, Guterres said at the sixth Istanbul conference on mediation.
"There could be no clearer illustration of the importance of political solutions to conflict," he remarked.
The UN chief lauded the first meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee held a day earlier in the Swiss city of Geneva as "a landmark, a foundation for progress, and in itself a clear success of mediation.
He voiced hope for the meeting to lead to a political solution to the Syrian war and create the opportunity for all displaced Syrians to return home voluntarily.
"I welcome recent efforts to end the fighting in northeast Syria through dialogue," he said. "I remain very concerned about the situation in Idlib, and repeat my call for maximum restraint, de-escalation and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure on all fronts in Syria."
Turkey halted its military offensive against Kurdish militia in northeastern Syria about two weeks ago following respective talks with the United States and Russia.
In his speech at the Istanbul conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said around 2 billion people, or one third of the world's population, are living in countries affected by conflicts.
"Violent conflicts do not necessarily happen in the form of conventional wars between states," he stated. "In fact, in most cases non-state groups, terrorists and criminal groups are involved."
He urged the world to take precautions against conflicts that have a tendency to "become more internationalized and more protracted."
Guterres also said the complex and changing geopolitical context of conflicts has serious implications for mediation.
The conference brought together prominent political figures, academics and experts on peace and reconciliation.
The Mediation for Peace initiative was launched in 2010 by Turkey and Finland at the United Nations.
