Russia has formally asked the Syrian government to temporarily halt military operations in areas of the country included in the ceasefire for the duration of the UN-backed peace negotiations, the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said.
"Today, the Russian Federation at the Ceasefire Task Force did announce that they have formally requested the Government of Syria to silence their own skies in the areas touched by cease-fire during the intra-Syrian negotiations. We have been requesting those who have an influence on the opposition to try themselves also to do the same. They don’t have airplanes but they can do something similar in terms of reducing any type of provocation on any side to give a better chance to the intra-Syrian negotiations to not be affected by breakdowns produced that spoil the actual talks," the UN special envoy said.
Representatives from Syria's government and the armed opposition were due to meet at the UN's Geneva headquarters on Thursday to begin roundtable discussions mediated by UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.
De Mistura acknowledged that he does not foresee immediate solutions from the meeting, but rather that it represented the beginning of a series of diplomatic negotiations aimed at restoring peace in the Arab nation.
"I’m expecting a beginning of a series of rounds that should enable to go much more in depth on the substantive issues that are required for a political solution in Syria," Staffan de Mistura noted.
"Now that they are in town, I will be meeting with the participants in the negotiations to discuss how to proceed," he added.
