Syria troops advance near Aleppo, amid frail United Nations peace bid

The UN envoy for Syria sought on Tuesday to press President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to ease the suffering of ordinary Syrians to enable fragile peace talks in Switzerland to “go deeper”.

The opposition has claimed that Syrian forces, backed by Russian air strikes, have intensified their campaign against rebel positions in the west of the country. “We still don’t know who the opposition delegation is”, Jaafari told reporters after meeting de Mistura, the third United Nations envoy for Syria since the war began in March 2011.

“The regime is the one killing the Syrian people”, said Salem al-Mislet, spokesman for the largest opposition coalition, the High Negotiations Committee, when asked by a Russian Federation reporter about the militant Army of Islam group that is in the opposition’s delegation.

Geneva – The Syrian government rejected on Tuesday that indirect peace talks have properly begun, with the head of its delegation describing negotiations as still in a “preparatory phase” and calling the opposition “not serious”.

He said he planned to take up further talks in a new meeting with government representatives on Tuesday, and his first goal is to keep the talks going.

“We agreed – and the government delegation agreed – that if they take part in negotiations, they will do so in a personal capacity”, Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Overview of the Syria peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland on January 29, 2016.

Scheduled proximity talks will not only aim to discuss governance, constitutional change and the holding of elections but also address the implementation of a lasting ceasefire to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and the possibility of stopping the threat of IS.

“The first, immediate objective is to ensure talks are ongoing and everyone is on board”, he said.

Outside powers were also in Geneva keeping a close eye on proceedings, with the Syrian government’s chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari reportedly meeting with the Russian ambassador, and Western envoys touching base with the opposition on Sunday.

Manna said his organization and leaders including former Syrian Minister Qadri Jamil and secular activist Randa Kassis had submitted a list of 35 representatives they wanted in the talks.

Turkey does not want the Democratic Union Party (PYD) – the Syrian affiliate of the PKK terrorist group – to be present at the talks although the USA considers the PYD a partner in fighting Daesh.

The UN human rights chief said on Monday that those committing crimes against humanity in Syria’s brutal war should not be let off under any deal, as peace talks struggled in Geneva.

The U.N. estimates that more than 486,000 people in Syria are living in besieged areas – mostly in territories held by government forces or Islamic State.

United Nations envoy Mistura said he has good reason to believe the High Negotiations Committee will eventually join the talks.

“Clearly, when looking most recently at the forced starvation of the people of Madaya, and knowing there are 15 other besieged towns and cities, this is not just a war crime but a crime against humanity, if proven in court”, Mr Zeid said.

The HNC is seeking an end to sieges and attacks on civilian areas, and the release of prisoners, in line with a UN Security Council resolution approved in December.