UN Syria envoy makes appeal ahead of new talks

Ahead of fresh talks in Geneva, UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen appealed on Friday for progress on the political front and on detainees and a wider ceasefire.

Success in next week's UN-led talks aimed at securing a peaceful future for Syria depends on making progress on a series of thorny issues, Pedersen said, in an appeal to the warring parties to extend a fragile ceasefire and release detainees.

Pedersen also urged the international community to show the people of Syria that they have not been forgotten, after almost a decade of war that is estimated to have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

The convening on Monday of the Small Body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee brings together 15 representatives from Syria's Government, 15 from the Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC) and 15 more civil society participants, known as the "middle third".

A larger group of 150 delegates is also part of the process, but only the smaller group is meeting in Geneva on Monday for a week.

Both bodies meet on the basis of an agreement between the Government of Syria and the opposition to implement a key part of Security Council resolution 2254, which calls for setting a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution.

Monday's gathering will be the first time that delegates will have met after a break of nine months, caused by differences over the agenda which were resolved by March – and then by COVID restrictions.