Local Editor
Syria’s official delegation and the opposition factions are expected to discuss prisoner releases at a second day of face-to-face peace talks in Geneva on Sunday.
The talks are set to resume at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) with UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi acting as a go-between, after the two warring sides sat together in the same room for the first time on Saturday.
In what Brahimi said was a “good beginning”, their first discussions centered on sending aid to besieged residents in the embattled city of Homs.
Brahimi said he hoped a deal could be reached on sending aid convoys on Sunday or Monday to Homs, where hundreds of families in the Old City are living under siege.
Despite the failure to agree on any concrete proposals, Saturday marked progress after the Syrian government on Friday accused the opposition of obstructing the negotiations and threatened to walk away.
Pulled together by the United Nations, Russia and the United States, the two sides are meeting in the biggest diplomatic push yet to stem Syria’s bloodshed after nearly three years of civil war.
Expectations are very low for a serious breakthrough at the talks, which are expected to last about a week, but diplomats have said simply bringing the two sides together for the first time was an important step.
Source: Al Manar
