U.N. envoy: Syrian cease-fire generally holding

GENEVA (AP) – The U.N.’s special envoy for Syrian peace talks on Monday said a U.S. and Russia-brokered cease-fire in the country’s southwest was generally holding despite some “teething problems,” adding he hoped it would contribute positively to talks between the government and opposition.

A new round of indirect talks that began Monday is the seventh so far between Syrian government representatives and opposition leaders to try to wind down the battered country’s 6-year-old civil war.

Staffan de Mistura, speaking at a press conference in Geneva, said he is not expecting any breakthroughs but rather “some incremental developments.”

The start of the talks in Geneva coincided with the first full day of the cease-fire for southern Syria that was brokered last week by the United States, Russia and Jordan.

Opposition activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh said it was quiet in the city of Daraa, near the Jordanian border. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported light shelling and bombardment in the city overnight.

The agreed-on cease-fire covers three provinces in war-torn southern Syria. It’s the first tangible outcome following months of strategy and diplomacy between the new Trump administration and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Moscow.

“We believe that de-escalation will be contributing to not only the talks in Geneva and in Astana of course but will also reassure the Syrian people that while we are talking the people are not going to die because of bombs,” de Mistura said.

He cautioned against de-escalation deals leading to eventual partition, saying they should be an interim measure only until an overall cease-fire and peace settlement can be found.

The Geneva talks are expected to last through the week. De Mistura will be shuttling between the two sides, which have not been face-to-face in the same room except at a ceremony to resume the talks earlier this year.