Chief of Syrian gov't delegation to continue talks next week

Head of the Syrian government delegation Bashar al-Jaafari said Friday that his team plans to convene for the fifth time with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura next week, despite the withdrawal from UN-mediated talks of Syria's main opposition delegation.

"We agreed with de Mistura that we will devote the next session which will be next Monday at 11 a.m. to discuss our modifications submitted on de Mistura's paper," he said following his fourth session with the mediator since the latest round of talks kicked-off a week ago.

Focusing mainly on humanitarian issues, the Syrian diplomat outlined the efforts made by the Syrian government over the last four months to help those in need of assistance in the war-torn country.

"With the coordination of the United Nations and the Syrian Red Crescent, the Syrian government achieved exactly 42 deliveries to hotspots," he explained.

"1,170,000 beneficiaries have received aid in these hotspots," he added.

While talks have not completely stalled, ongoing negotiations have been marred by the departure of the bulk of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation after it accused the government of avoiding the issue of political transition amid a concerning humanitarian and security situation on the ground.

To date, talks have failed to delve into the crux of the problem as proximity negotiations have yet to reach a common framework of understanding on what a political transition could look like.

The Syrian government seeks to establish a broad-based national unity government to include members who reject terrorism as well as opponents in the national opposition who are not subject to foreign agendas.

The HNC on the other hand backs the creation of a transitional governing body which has no place for incumbent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

De Mistura is to assess the situation on Friday evening after meeting the Internal Damascus Platform, a group representing members of Syria's internal opposition, in the afternoon. Endit