US peace envoy 'sorry' as Syrian peace talks break off in failure in Geneva

United Nation's peace envoy to Syria has said he was 'very, very sorry' as peace talks in Geneva broke off with no progress.

The talks in Geneva ended with no progress made and no date set for a third round.

Just weeks after the warring parties met for the first time to seek a political settlement to the three-year conflict in Syria, a second round ended in acrimony, news24 reports.

Lakhdar Brahimi said he was very, very sorry, as he announced the break-off in talks in Geneva.

Brahimi added it was better that every side goes back and reflects, and takes their responsibility: do they want this process to continue or not?

Meanwhile, death toll continued to mount in Syria where more than 136 000 have died and millions have been driven from their homes.

A monitoring group said this week more than 5 000 people had been killed since the talks began on 22 January.

In Geneva, the rivals have seemed to agree to one thing this week that the negotiations were stalled.

Brahimi said if the sides returned for talks, they would first discuss violence and terrorism.

Brahimi said the situation would also be discussed with the United States and Russia, a key ally of Damascus, the report added.