United Nations envoy for Syria says peace talks will begin Friday

Giving a press conference in Geneva, where the talks are to take place, Mr de Mistura said invitations would be sent out on Tuesday but he refused to reveal the list or number of invitees, leaving it up to them to decide whether or not to participate. However Russia, Assad’s primary worldwide backer, wants a number of rebel groups it considers terrorists barred from the talks, including Jaish al-Islam. No side in the war, which has grown increasingly complex since its start, has presented a coherent plan to end the hostilities.

Turkish officials have said they strongly oppose the involvement of the PYD, and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), from taking part in the talks, and said on Wednesday that it will boycott Geneva if they are invited.

His caution, de Mistura explained, is meant to “make sure that when and if we start, we start on the right foot”.

The conflict has been raging since early 2011 and has led to the deaths of more than 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million from their homes, according to the UN.

Lead opposition negotiator Mohamad Alloush said Kerry had put pressure on them to attend the Geneva talks in order to negotiate a halt to Russian bombardments, the lifting of blockades and the release of detainees – measures it has insisted must be implemented before any negotiations go ahead.

The last time peace talks were held in Geneva two years ago, they collapsed within weeks after it became clear the government was not willing to offer any concessions to opposition demands for an end to Assad’s rule.

He will push for a countrywide “real ceasefire”, including all parties except the two groups designed as “terrorists” by the United Nations – IS and Al Nusra.

“The first priority will be the focus of the talks of what most Syrians if not all want to hear: The possibility of a broad cease-fire, and the possibility of stopping the threat of ISIL, and therefore, thanks to a broader cease-fire, an increase of humanitarian aid”, he said, using another acronym for IS. He expects representatives of “civil society and women” will be involved in the talks, in line with last December’s UN Security Council resolution which urged broad, inclusive representation.

Members of the delegation also reportedly told Al-Hayat journalist Ibrahim Hamdidi that Kerry told the HNC that following a meeting he had with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week, President Bashar al-Assad could still run for re-election and there was no timetable for his departure.

But a dispute over whether armed groups should be able to sit at the table to represent the opposition appears poised to delay the talks.

“The position of the United States is and hasn’t changed”.

In November, IS claimed responsibility for the deadly November 13 Paris attacks that left 130 people dead and 350 others wounded.

Syrian sources said the 32-member body was split about what to do after a tense weekend meeting with John Kerry, the USA secretary of state. “We are still supporting the opposition, politically, financially and militarily”.