A second week-long round of Syrian talks has ended without a meeting of the group of 45 delegates meant to be negotiating on the constitution, United Nations Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said Friday.
The Syrian regime and opposition co-chairs were unable to agree on agenda for the constitutional talks, he told reporters. "We have been trying to reach consensus but as I said we are not there yet."
The talks are meant to be a step forward in what the U.N. says will be a long road to political rapprochement, followed by elections. But experts question whether Bashar al-Assad will be willing to cede much in any negotiations after his Russian and Iranian-backed forces recaptured large areas of the country in offensives against rebels and militants since 2015.
Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighbouring countries.
Reuters
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