ARA News

Geneva – On Tuesday, the United Nations announced the launch of the third rounds of Syrian peace talks in Geneva, in an attempt to reach a solution to the four-year crisis in the war-torn country.  

The talks include delegations from the Syrian regime and the opposition. U.N. officials also expressed their attempts to involve the armed opposition in the ongoing talks in Geneva. 

U.N. special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is holding talks with more than a dozens representatives from Syrian groups.

The current peace talks in Geneva are expected to last for at least six weeks. 

De Mistura kicked off the consultations on Tuesday by meeting the Syrian ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Hussam Edin Aala.

About 20 countries are participating in the Geneva talks concerning Syria.

“Among the participants there exists a broad spectrum of youth, political and military actors, women, victims; additionally, there are other diverse groups–members of civil society, religious and community leaders and more,” he said during a news conference. 

The U.N. envoy emphasized that he wanted to see whether there was now common ground within the international community concerning Syria and whether “the gaps in how to implement it (the agreement) had narrowed”.

Reporting by: Lorin Silo