Geneva II talks on Syria resume

The next round of the Geneva II conference on Syria resumed Monday here, after the first round concluded last month with no concrete results.

The second round of peace talks began with a meeting between UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and the delegation of the Syrian opposition, reported Xinhua.

After meeting the opposition, Brahimi will hold talks with the delegation of the Syrian government, according to UN sources.

The talks have brought together members of the Syrian regime and opposition for the first time since 2011 Syrian conflict, which has left over 100,000 dead and millions of people displaced.

The meetings were set at Palais des Nations, where the UN office at Geneva (UNOG) is located.

Last week, UNOG spokeswoman said the second round was expected to last for the entire week.

The Syrian government said it would discuss points of the 2012 Geneva I communique in the second round of talks.

During the first round, the delegations from the Syrian government and of the oppositional Syrian National Coalition stuck to their demands.

The opposition demanded establishment of a transitional government with full executives and without the presence of President Bashar al-Assad.

However, the government emphasized on stopping terrorism and insisted that it would not hand over power to the opposition coalition.