U.S., Russia carrying out top-level ceasefire discussions: UN envoy for Syria

The United Nations(UN) Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura said Thursday that high-level talks between officials from the United States and Russia working to implement a ceasefire in Syria are ongoing and likely to last until Saturday.

He added a "political initiative" is expected to be announced by his team before the UN General Assembly kicks off on Sept. 13.

"Discussions are ongoing at a very senior military, security and diplomatic level between Russian and U.S. officers," De Mistura said after a weekly humanitarian taskforce here.

These meetings are important since they follow up on an understanding reached by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in July to bring momentum to a renewed cessation of hostilities in Syria, a country at war since 2011.

A nationwide truce between factions loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups seeking to oust him is seen as pivotal by the UN to allow humanitarian aid to reach millions of Syrians striving to survive in hard-to-reach and besieged areas.

It is also seen as central for the resumption of Syrian peace talks which have been on hold since April.

It is against this backdrop that De Mistura hopes to bring the Syrian situation to the attention of the 71st UN General Assembly which will take place in New York.

"We are planning to indicate a quite clear political initiative during the week preceding the General Assembly," said the diplomat.

"That's the target date to make sure that everyone is actively involved in producing some positive outcome on this conflict," he added. Enditem