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Damascus delegation to participate in Syrian talks in Geneva

29 November 2017 15:40 (UTC+04:00)
Damascus delegation to participate in Syrian talks in Geneva

By Kamila Aliyeva

The eighth round of talks on Syria is taking place in Geneva on November 29.

Today, the attention is focused on the arrival of representatives of the Syrian Government, headed by the ambassador of this Arab republic to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, TASS reported.

The delegation of the official Damascus postponed its arrival on the day because of disagreement with the document adopted at the opposition conference in Riyadh, which contained the demand for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of the political transition process.

That issue has lingered as a sticking point in years of global attempts to get the government and rebels to agree on a roadmap for Syria's future.

The country's delegation decided to go to negotiations following “intensive consultations with the Russian side,” according to a source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

With the arrival of government emissaries this round makes sense, experts believe.

The talks began on Tuesday with UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura meeting with the opposition delegation. He said afterward the two sides would have a chance for direct negotiations in Geneva.

Earlier, UN representative said that he believes it is possible for the two sides to narrow their differences as they negotiate under a framework approved by the UN Security Council that calls for a new constitution and elections. At the same time, he highlighted that his mediation team will not accept either side entering the talks with preconditions.

Seven previous rounds of United Nations-backed talks have ended with little progress towards finding solution to the crisis.

Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. All previous efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution were ruined, with the opposition demanding Assad leave power, the government insisting he stay on, and neither side able to force the issue by achieving a military victory.

According to UN's special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, around 500,000 people have died in the conflict while half the population has been driven from their homes.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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