Syrian peace talks to resume within days: UN

The United Nations says peace talks on the conflict in Syria are to resume within days.

According to the reports, a spokeswoman for UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Tuesday that delegations to the talks are likely to arrive in Geneva, Switzerland, in several days. The negotiations will begin no later than March 14, Jessy Chahine stated.

The UN official specified the timetable by saying that talks will officially start on Wednesday with meetings planned for a group monitoring the humanitarian aid and a truce agreement currently holding in Syria.

De Mistura had earlier vowed that indirect talks between the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition would begin on Wednesday in the Swiss city.

Chahine said logistics and other issues mean that delegations are likely to arrive in Geneva in several days. De Mistura and his team, she added, will be ready to receive all of the participants as of afternoon of March 9.

“But the envoy will start substantive meetings with those who are in Geneva by the latest on March 14,” she said.

Chahine elaborated on the logistic challenges of resuming the stalled talks on Wednesday, saying the hotels in Geneva have been filled up due to a major car show in the city, meaning that the participants to the Syria talks would have to arrive on various dates.

SS