2nd LD: Progress made as latest Syria peace talks wrap up: UN envoy

The UN Special Envoy for Syria said Friday that the latest round of Syria peace talks has yielded tangible progress, and that he plans to reconvene with delegations later this month for a fifth round of negotiations seeking to broker an end to the six-year conflict.

According to Staffan de Mistura, who has mediated the proximity talks since Feb. 23, while no breakthrough has been achieved negotiations have produced an agenda which will form the backbone for future rounds of talks.

"I think and believe that we have a clear agenda now in front of us," de Mistura told reporters here.

This entails addressing what he called the "four baskets", which relate to three key elements laid out in Security Council resolution 2254, namely the formation of a credible and inclusive governance, UN-supervised elections and the drafting of a new constitution.

The inclusion a fourth and final "basket", related to counter-terrorism issues, can be seen as a win for the Syrian government delegation, which has sought to make this controversial topic a priority in past rounds.

"We have discussed the substance of all these baskets, stimulated by UN inputs. We have been able to actually see the informed positions of the parties and we have been submitting some thoughts based on the previous rounds," de Mistura said.

While no breakthrough was in the making this time round, de Mistura said that 9 days of bilateral meetings have prepared the ground for future rounds of talks.

The UN diplomat told reporters that he plans to reconvene with warring parties later this month.

This is contingent however on the consolidation of a fragile ceasefire in place since Dec.30 2016, as well as improved humanitarian access in the war-torn country.

This latest round of talks was the first to take place under the auspices of the UN since negotiations broke down in April last year amid a humanitarian meltdown and systemic violence. Endit