After countless speeches, meetings and behind-the-scenes discussions, the war in Syria remained the unsolved problem that loomed over this year’s gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, October 2. As the week-long meeting of the U.N. General Assembly ended Monday, there were no breakthroughs on a civil war that has vexed diplomats, paralyzed the Security Council and raised new questions about the relevance of the United Nations. Dozens of nations excoriated the regime of President Bashar Assad for its role in a conflict that has killed at least 30,000 Syrians. The new international envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is due back in the region this week. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said he did not know if Brahimi would be able to enter Syria, but hoped to persuade the Assad regime to “go in the direction of a reduction of violence.”