Syrian government delegation arrives in Geneva: video

YemenExtra

M.A.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura met with the Syrian government delegation, led by the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari, at Palace of Nations in Geneva, Tuesday, regarding  the new round of intra-Syrian talks brokered by the UN.

Later in the day, De Mistura is to hold meetings with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov and Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation.

The Geneva round talks come a week after the Astana agreement reached by Russia, Turkey and Iran on creating “de-escalation” zones to reduce battles across Syria.

UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura called on the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition to utilize this opportunity to build on what he observes as a positive outcome of the Astana meeting and bring Syria’s devastating six-year civil war to an end.

This round is expected to be not as long as the previous one and more business-like. The talks are set to be concluded on Saturday, May 20.