Intra-Syrian Talks to Begin in Geneva on Jan. 25

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that he intends to complete his consultations to form delegations of Syrian opposition and the government in early January, with a view to initiating intra-Syrian talks on a target date of 25 January 2016 in Geneva.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UN-sponsored intra-Syrian talks are slated to begin on January 25, a spokesman for UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said in a statement Saturday.

"The Special Envoy intends to complete his consultations [to form delegations of opposition and the government] in early January, with a view to initiating intra-Syrian talks on a target date of 25 January 2016 in Geneva," the statement reads.

The UN special envoy urged all sides to the conflict to "show leadership and vision to overcome differences for the sake of Syria" and stressed that "continuing developments" on the ground should not derail the talks.

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Syrian settlement, which reaffirmed the goals of the Vienna agreements to bring the entire spectrum of the political groups in the crisis-torn country to the negotiating table and stated that the next round of the talks would take place in January, 2016.

Since the start of the conflict in Syria, Switzerland’s Geneva has hosted two rounds of UN-brokered talks between representatives of the Syrian authorities and opposition. The Geneva negotiations have failed to yield any significant results.