The next round of the Syria peace talks in Geneva is expected to begin next week on Feb. 23, the United Nations announced late on Monday.
"The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to ensure a successful confirmation of arrangements for the convening of intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva. We can confirm that letters have been sent today, and also that consultations are continuing," Mistura's office said in a statement.
This will be the first time Syrian regime and opposition delegations have returned to Geneva since talks were suspended in April 2016.
"It is expected that delegations would arrive in Geneva on or about Feb. 20 to enable prior consultations with the Special Envoy and his team before the formal start of intra-Syrian negotiations planned for Feb. 23, 2017," the statement added.
Prior to the aforementioned talks, the two sides met in the Kazakh capital Astana in late January to discuss the ongoing nationwide cease-fire. The Astana talks came after Ankara and the Kremlin brokered a nationwide cease-fire agreement on New Year's Eve. This brought intense clashes between the Assad regime and opposition forces to an abrupt halt as the result of Ankara's assertive and proactive stance on Syria, both militarily and diplomatically.
Turkey, Russia and Iran issued a closing statement in mutual agreement indicating that all sides have agreed "there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and it can only be solved through the diplomatic implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution Number 2254 in its entirety."
Syrian opposition leaders left the Geneva talks in April 2016 after airstrikes on civilians were carried out by Russia and the Assad regime. The troubled talks failed to get off the ground despite hopes brought about by the previous cease-fire.
