UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, US State Secretary John Kerry announced that the parties to the Syrian peace process were planning to hold talks in New York City on December 18.
"As far as we are concerned this meeting has not yet been agreed upon, both the place and the timing of this meeting. There must be two lists. One list of the opposition that will participate in talks with the government. We expect Mr. Staffan de Mistura [UN special envoy for Syria] to play the leading role in putting that list together. There are some meetings being conducted," Churkin told reporters at the UN on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power also said that the next round of international talks on the Syrian settlement was likely to take place in New York, but it was not possible to confirm this yet.
At the first round of Vienna talks, international mediators worked out a nine-point plan on ending the Syrian civil war, including a definition of national unity, the need to defeat of extremist groups and provide assistance to refugees.
During the second round of the talks, mediators agreed to uphold the 2012 Geneva communique on a political solution to the Syrian conflict and set a six-month timeframe for Syria to form an interim unity government, while stipulating that elections in Syria should be held within 18 months.
