Syrian gov't delegation arrives in Geneva for UN-led peace talks

GENEVA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government delegation to attend the new round of the UN-led Intra-Syrian talks has arrived here Wednesday, a source close to the Syrian government delegation said.

The government delegation is once again headed by Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN, who is expected to meet and hold a bilateral discussion with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura later the day.

Giving green light to the participation of the new round of the Geneva talks in the last minute, the Syrian government delegation failed to arrive at Geneva on the opening day of the new talks.

De Mistura on Tuesday afternoon met with the Syrian opposition delegation, known as the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC), kicking off the new round of the intra-Syrian talks under the aegis of the UN.

"We have in the past, from the oppositions, some delays to the talks, but our door is open and we will not put any judgments on that. We will test everyone by what they actually do but not only the attentions," De Mistura told Xinhua Tuesday.

De Mistura said he will ask the government's position whether or not they also want a direct discussion this time with the opposition during their meeting later on Wednesday.

After meeting with the UN Envoy, SNC on Tuesday issued a statement calling for "direct negotiations" with the representatives of the Assad regime in the talks.

Breaking out in 2011 and then quickly turned into a full-fledged war, the Syrian armed conflict has entered into its seventh year, and so far UN figures showed that the Syria war has killed more than 330,000 people and displaced millions.

The last UN-led talks aimed at brokering a political solution between the Syrian government and the major opposition forces ended on July 14 without going deeper into any of the scheduled topics. Enditem