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UN envoy arrives in Syria for talks with top officials

Xinhua, February 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura arrived in the capital Damascus on Monday for meeting with top Syrian officials on his proposal for freezing the battles in Syria's northern province of Aleppo.

The special envoy came through Lebanon and was received by Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Damascus.

Mistura is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Tuesday, sources told Xinhua.

In a press conference held Monday, al-Moallem said the proposal of de Mistura primarily focused on freezing the battles in Aleppo city, not its countryside.

"We welcomed de Mistura... because we want to achieve an agreement that could preserve the unity and stability of Aleppo and restore normalcy to it," al-Moallem said.

He said de Mistura may have new ideas he would like to lay forward regarding his plan and "we are ready to listen to him." Endit