UN hopeful of progress at Syria constitution talks

Talks on a new constitution for Syria resume this week in Geneva, with the United Nations mediator hopeful of making headway. Back in October, the sixth round of discussions between 15 representatives each from President Bashar al-Assad s government, the opposition, and civil society, ended with no agreement on how to move things forward.

But UN envoy Geir Pedersen said the two co-chairs -- from the government and the opposition -- had now come up with an improved procedure for finding common ground on the final day of the talks, which will be on Friday.

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"Syria remains one of the gravest crises in the world and there is a clear need for progress towards a political solution," Pedersen told reporters on Sunday.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee was created in September 2019 and first convened a month later.

The tentative negotiations are aimed at rewriting the war-torn country s constitution. It is hoped the talks could pave the way towards a broader political process.

"The committee should work in a way that builds trust and confidence," Pedersen said.

"During this session I hope to see the constitutional committee work with a sense of seriousness and purpose and determination to make progress that the situation demands.

"If the three delegations do what they have said they will do, I hope that we can see some steady progress."