Syria Peace Talks Get Underway in Geneva

A fresh round of peace negotiations started between representatives of the Damascus government and the foreign-backed opposition in the Swiss city of Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations.


The government delegation is headed by Syria’s UN ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari, while the main opposition delegation, called the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), is headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a 40-year old cardiologist, and lawyer Mohammad Sabra.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura convened his first morning meeting with the delegation of Syrian government envoys. He is expected to meet with Hariri later in the day, according to Press TV.

De Mistura has played down expectations for major progress in the fourth round of Syria talks aimed at finding a political solution to the nearly six-year-old conflict in the Arab country.

“Am I expecting a breakthrough? No, I am not expecting a breakthrough,” he told journalists at the UN headquarters on Wednesday.
 (Tasnim)
23/2/17