UN's de Mistura Aims to Start Next Round of Syria Talks by End of August

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Tuesday he aims to start the next round of intra-Syrian talks before the end of August, after a meeting with US Special Envoy for Syria Michael Ratney and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He added that the trilateral meeting was fruitful, but more preparations are needed in order to start the next round.

"We reached some progress today, frankly, but we need some more details in order to work it [preparation of the next round of talks] out. In particular, from the American and Russian sides," de Mistura told reporters.

Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

"Our aim is to proceed with the third round of intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August," de Mistura said.

The Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups — the Riyadh-formed HNC, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeimim groups — have been taking part in the UN-mediated Geneva talks on peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The latest round of the talks took place in Geneva on April 13-27.

The start of the next round of intra-Syrian talks should not be tied to the improvement of the situation on the ground in Aleppo and Damascus, de Mistura said.

"Today obviously we were unable to very much talk about both Aleppo and Damascus. The rockets have been motor-shelling in the center of Damascus, and horrible events have taken place in hospitals in Aleppo. What everyone feels is the sense of urgency… The talks are certainly not going to wait for improvement in Aleppo and Damascus, but we really hope that meanwhile, even tomorrow, the sooner the better, there will be some improvement there."