UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (C) delivers a speech at the end of a plenary session at the Congress of Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi on January 30, 2018.
Russia hosted a showpiece congress aimed at bringing Syria's seven-year war to an end, but hopes were low after rebels pulled out at the last minute following boycotts by the main opposition and Kurds. / AFP PHOTO / Alexander NEMENOV        (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)