'The process begins on March 9 at noon. The special UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and his team hope to receive the participants that day', said to the reporters the Deputy Spokesperson of the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq.
According to the spokesman, for logistical reasons, some delegations that will attend to the Geneva III, named in reference to the previous talks in this Swiss city, could join to the talks on March 12 or 13.
The resumption of the dialogue was scheduled for March 7, but de Mistura informed last week about the need to change the start date, in order to ensure the right conditions for negotiations between the sides and a greater scope for compliance with the ceasefire established on February 27.
Delegations of the government and the opposition held separate meetings with de Mistura in late January and early February, but the UN special envoy decided to stop the process due to the deterioration of the military and humanitarian situation, as well as the few existing probabilities to progress at the time.
The upcoming talks respond to the road map for peace in Syria according to the resolution 2254 of the Security Council of last December, an initiative promoted by Russia and the United States that includes dialogue and end of hostilities. These steps must take place before holding elections under a new constitution.
There are several reports of violations of the ceasefire, which must be investigated by a monitoring mechanism led by Moscow and Washington.
According to the United Nations, the most important thing is to avoid the escalation of the fight and take advantage of the cease of hostilities so the humanitarian aid reaches the population.
UN data indicate that 13.500.000 people are in need of aid, including more than six million displaced people.
hr/iht/mgt/wmr
PL-3/MNA