Richard Haass: Diplomacy in Syria is a 'non-starter'

The White House has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime appears to be "losing control", after three top figures at the heart of Syria's defence establishment were killed in a bomb attack.

Richard Haass, president of the US Council on Foreign Relations, told the BBC that the prospect of a lull in the conflict brought about by a UN mandate at this stage is "nonsense".

"Traditional peace-making in this context is a non-starter", Mr Haass said. But, he added, there could still be a way for the UN peace mission to engineer an exit for the current leaders and lay down possible ground rules for what comes next.