New Syria peace talks as fight comes to Damascus

BEIRUT: A fifth round of UN- backed Syria peace talks begins today in Geneva with scant hope of a breakthrough against a backdrop of fighting in Damascus and no sign of compromise.

The last session in February may have produced a ‘clear agenda’, according to UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, but the regime and rebels oppose each other on all its points.

The talks aim to find a solution to end a six-year conflict that has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

This round’s agenda includes the issues of governance – a political transition – the constitution and elections, as well as counterterrorism at the request of Damascus.

The United Nations said on Tuesday that all sides who had already attended the last round of negotiations in February had confirmed their attendance for this week.

“These will be ‘ proxy talks’, direct talks have been excluded,” a Western source close to the negotiations told AFP. — AFP