TEHRAN (FNA)- Syria's warring sides headed Monday into a new round of peace talks in Geneva, 10 days after a debut session that ended with the agreement to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Homs.


After government and opposition delegates arrived at their Geneva hotels Sunday, they held separate closed-door meetings with UN and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, Voice of Russia reported.

The Algerian veteran peacemaker, who in late January brought the two sides to the table for the first time since the war began in 2011, is scheduled to hold talks with the opposition at 10:00 am (09:00 GMT) Monday.

Then at 11:30, he is to meet with the government delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

It was not clear if the two sides would sit down together Monday for a meeting under the auspices of Brahimi, nor how many days the round was expected to last.

The so-called Geneva II talks, marks the biggest international push to end the war.

Syria's opposition not to change its delegation to second round of talks in Geneva

Syria's opposition will send the same delegation to the second round of talks within the framework of the Geneva II international peace conference due to begin on Monday, February 10, a source in the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF) said on Sunday.

"The composition of the delegation will not be changed," the source said. "Maybe, a couple of new representatives will join but the team to be present in the negotiating room will be the same."

According to the source, the leaders of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Ahmad al-Jarba, has not yet arrived in Geneva.

The previous round of intra-Syrian talks ended on January 31 after eight days of consultations.

Formally, the Syrian government delegation was led by Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallen, and the opposition's delegation was led by al-Jarba.

But the two men were not physically present in the negotiating room having delegated their competences to their proxies, Bashar al-Jafari, Syria's Permanent Representative at the United Nations, from the government delegations and Hadi al-Bahra, a member of the Syrian National Coalition's Political Committee, from the opposition delegation.

Earlier on Sunday, a well-informed source told the Russian news agency that the government delegation led by Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallen had already arrived in Geneva.

Syria's government delegation arrives in Geneva for second round of talks

Syria's government delegation has arrived in Geneva to take part in the second round of intra-Syrian talks due to begin on Monday, February 10, a well-informed source said.

"The delegation is lead by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem," the source said.

However, the composition of the opposition delegation is not yet clear.

Representatives from the United Nations European office cannot tell whether the delegation would remain as it was, comprised of representatives from the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF), or whether other opposition groups would join it.

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when sporadic pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle-East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.

Washington has remained indifferent to warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.

By Fars News Agency�

 

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