Publish Date: 26 February 2016 - 10:21

NEW YORK, Feb. 26 (MNA) – The UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is expected to announce today the date for resuming talks between the Syrian Government and the opponents, the UN confirmed.

In remarks to journalists, the UN spokesman Stephan Dujarric ratified the announcement made by de Mistura in Geneva, where the parties in conflict are expected to return to the negotiation table, though perhaps not face-to-face, at least in the first contacts.

The resumption of the talks had been scheduled for yesterday. They were suspended on Feb.3 because hostilities continued and conditions lacked for the process to make progress.

Then, a delegation of the Government of Bashar al Assad traveled to Geneva to talked with representatives of the opposition settled in Saudi Arabia, but the latter imposed conditions and delayed the indirect dialog, and de Mistura decided to freeze the negotiations aimed at checking five years of hostilities that have resulted in more than 250,000 people killed, 11 million of internally displaced and refugees, and 13.50 million people needing assistance.

Also today, De Mistura is scheduled to inform the UN Security Council through videoconference about the situation, favored by the announcement this week by the United States and Russia of an agreement on the terms to implement a ceasefire in Syria as of Feb.27.

After his report, the UN envoy will offer a press conference in Geneva.

 

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