MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In late December, the UN press service said that a target date for intra-Syrian negotiations was January 25. On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed that the talks would take place on schedule and would not be disrupted by the diplomatic fallout between Iran and Saudi Arabia,
"It will be important to implement concrete confidence building measures in support of the upcoming intra-Syrian political talks scheduled to start at the end of January: an end to attacks on civilians, to aerial bombardments and sieges of civilian areas," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner for Humanitarian aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said in a joint statement.
The EU officials also welcomed Damascus’ decision on Thursday to allow the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid to three besieged Syrian cities of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting against numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.
