UN to announce new date for resumed Syrian talks on Friday: special envoy

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Thursday that he would announce a date for the resumption of Syrian talks on Friday after briefing the UN Security Council from here through a video conference system.

"Tomorrow is going to be a very crucial day," de Mistura told press following an International Syria Support Group (ISSG) task force on humanitarian access meeting, the third of its kind.

Warring factions have until midday Friday to accept the framework of a U.S.-Russian proposal for a cessation of hostilities in the war-torn country, while an ISSG ceasefire task force is to convene in Geneva's Palais des Nations after that.

The special envoy is expected to relay information "regarding the resumption of Geneva talks" late on Friday evening.

UN-led talks seeking to broker a political solution between Syrian warring factions, namely Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's government and opposition forces, came to a premature standstill on Feb. 3 after parties failed to see eye to eye on a number of issues.

Following the suspension of talks, top diplomats attending the Munich Security Conference agreed to work on the delivery of humanitarian aid and the cessation of hostilities in the country at war since 2011.

"Both deliverables are moving, and moving in the right direction," de Mistura explained, while cautioning that more work needs to be done.

According to related UN agency figures, 110,000 people in besieged areas in Syria have been provided with vital humanitarian aid since talks were put on hold three weeks ago. Endit