Talks between Damascus and the Syrian opposition will begin on January 29, the UN's Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has told journalists in Geneva. The negotiations will focus on a broad ceasefire, stopping Islamic State militants and increasing aid, he added.
De Mistura said the process of finalizing the list of participants “is still ongoing,” particularly regarding clarification of the opposition groups which will not be considered “terrorist.”
He added that the UN will start sending invitations on Tuesday. “I’m going to send the invitations given by the mandate of the UN Security Council,” he said.
The peace talks were originally due to start on Monday, but were postponed.
"We want to make sure that when and if we start, to start at least on the right foot. It will be uphill anyway," de Mistura said.