UN Envoy Officially Starts Syrian Peace Talks
KABUL: (MEP) Peace process talks on Syria conflict has officially kicked off on Monday aimed at ending the five years’ war in the country, the UN special envoy for Syria said following his first formal meeting with the opposition umbrella group in Geneva.
“We are starting officially the Geneva talks…and we will meet the government (Tuesday) and will invite the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Tuesday afternoon to go deeper into the issues raised.” Staffan de Mistura told reporters.
The Swedish-Italian diplomat said he expected the talks to be “complicated and difficult,” but that Syria’s people deserved to “see something concrete, apart from a long, painful negotiation.”
“The first immediate objective is to make sure the talks continue and that everyone is on board,” de Mistura said.
He addressed reporters after wrapping up a preliminary meeting with the HNC, which arrived in Geneva on Saturday after days of deliberating whether they would attend.
He could not comment on how long he expected the first round of talks to last, but said he hoped negotiations “achieve something” by February 11.
More than 260,000 have been killed and wounded in the war-torn country during the five years conflict while millions of others fled their homes.
