Syrian peace talks to begin on Friday, says UN special envoy

Talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups aimed at ending the country’s near five-year-old ci vil war are to begin on Friday, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura has announced.

Giving a press conference in Geneva, where the talks are to take place, Mr de Mistura said invitations would be sent out on Tuesday but he refused to reveal the list or number of invitees, leaving it up to them to decide whether or not to participate.

There would be no opening ceremony and participants would get down to business directly, he said. “We are going to aim at proximity talks starting on the 29th and ongoing for six months,” he added.

Conversations on who will attend are ongoing in various capitals. Since the process will begin with proximity talks, through an intermediary rather than directly between the parties, some opposition groups may opt to stay away until next week.

Mr de Mistura said different opposition groups could occupy separate rooms and he will shuttle among them. He expects representatives of "civil society and women" will be involved in the talks, in line with last December's UN Security Council resolution which urged broad, inclusive representation.

The envoy said participation would be unconditional, rejecting the demand of a group formed last month in Saudi Arabia to be the sole opposition representative. But he would not say whether the US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance based in northeastern Syria would be invited. Turkey argues the group should be excluded beacuse the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party is tied to the Turkish Kurdish Worker's Party, which is fighting Ankara for autonomy.

Mr de Mistura said priority would be given to reaching a national ceasefire with all fighting factions excluding Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, branded "terrorist" by the UN Security Council. Priority must also be given to increased humanitarian aid to besieged Syrians and to "stop the threat" of Islamic State, also known as Isis.

Once there was progress on a ceasefire, the envoy added, the talks would focus on governance, a new constitution and elections.

Working groups including experts on these topics are to be brought in and the first round of talks is likely to last three weeks, with a break for participants to consult among themselves or with their sponsors, and the UN officials involved, to assess progress. Talks will then resume for another session. Mr de Mistura said repeatedly the aim was not to fail as the 2014 Geneva negotiations had failed.

The talks are based on a road map adopted in Vienna last November and reaffirmed by the Security Council resolution. The plan involves a countrywide ceasefire with unsurgents other than Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra and the formation of a national unity transitional government which would draft a new constitution and hold elections by August next year.

The government insists that President Bashar al-Assad should remain until the elections while the opposition team formed by Saudi Arabia and some groups say he must stand down before the transitional period begins. Other opposition factions are more flexible.

US secretary of state John Kerry has, reportedly, threatened to withdraw US support for the Saudi team if it does not attend the talks. The talks are backed by Russia, the European Union, and Iran while Saudi Arabia and Turkey have extended support if the Riyadh team's demands are met.

On a vist to Laos, Mr Kerry stated, “We’re going to have the meetings . . . but what we’re trying to do is make absolutely certain that when they start everybody is clear about roles and what’s happening, so that you don’t . . . wind up with a question mark or a failure.”