Syria peace talks move tentatively into a second day

BBC News

Talks in Geneva aimed at finding a solution to the conflict in Syria are entering a second official day.

On Monday, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura held his first formal meeting with the main opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee. For several days it was unclear whether it would take part in the talks at all.

The HNC has demanded an end to sieges and air strikes on rebel-held areas, as well the release of prisoners, before starting negotiations in earnest. More than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria.

Eleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS).

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionThe talks are taking place as fighting on the ground in Syria intensifies

Image copyrightReuters

Image captionUN special envoy Staffan de Mistura met opposition groups on Monday

The Syrian government team is expected at the UN headquarters in Geneva, the Palais des Nations, on Tuesday morning; the opposition in the afternoon.

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the fact that both sides are participating is being seen as positive, but the opposition is waiting for a sign that the government will respond to its calls for humanitarian measures.

HNC representatives said they received "very positive messages" from Mr de Mistura, but that they were waiting for the outcome of his discussions with government officials on Tuesday before deciding whether to formally join the peace process.

Image copyrightAP

Image captionAll sides concede the talks could easily be derailed

"We are here for a few days. If there [is] no progress on the ground, we are leaving," Monzer Makhous told the Reuters news agency on arrival in Geneva.

"We are not here for negotiations, we are here to test the regime's intentions."

The UN special envoy said the HNC had made the "very strong point" that parallel to any talks, the Syrian people "deserve to hear and see facts on the ground".

"When I meet the Syrian people they tell me: 'Don't just have a conference, have also something that we can see and touch while you are meeting in Geneva,'" Mr de Mistura told reporters.

In an apparent gesture of goodwill, the government agreed on Monday "in principle" to allow more aid to be delivered to the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, near Damascus, where hundreds of civilians are reportedly suffering from severe malnutrition and several have starved to death.

Aid will also be sent to the northern villages of Foah and Kefraya, which are surrounded by rebel forces.

Elsewhere in Syria the fighting seems to have intensified in recent days, with government forces bombarding several suburbs of the capital and launching an offensive on rebel positions around the northern city of Aleppo.

The talks in Geneva are part of a process outlined in a UN Security Council resolution approved in December, which envisions an 18-month timetable for a political transition in Syria, ending with elections.