Updated 11:00 pm: Syria's warring sides on Thursday got bogged down in a dispute over who was responsible for the violence in the country, as peace talks in Geneva focused on "terrorism."
While the mere fact the rivals agreed on a topic of discussion was seen as a step forward, the first round of talks are expected to wrap up Friday with no concrete progress on ending the violence, agreeing on a political transition or ensuring humanitarian aid to millions in need.
"There is of course agreement that terrorism ... is a very serious problem inside Syria, but there's no agreement on how to deal with it," UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters ahead of the seventh and final day of talks.
The two sides have been brought together in Geneva in the biggest diplomatic push yet to end a civil war that has left more than 130,000 dead and forced millions from their homes.
"This is really the beginning of our process," Brahimi stressed.
"I hope that when we come back we'll have a more structured discussion," said the UN mediator, who on Friday is expected to announce a second round of talks in Geneva after about a week.
During the interval, Syrian opposition chief Ahmad Jarba will visit officials in Russia, his top aide told AFP Thursday evening.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/geneva-ii-talks-syrian-delegations-focus-terrorism