Syrian delegation arrives in Geneva as peace talk continue

[Anthea]

Syrian government delegation arrives in Geneva as peace talks continue

Members of Syria's government delegation arrived in Geneva on Friday (April 15) as peace talks continue after being delayed by the U.N. mediator to ensure the commitment of all negotiating parties.

The head of the delegation, Bashar Ja'afari arrived at the Crowne Plaza hotel where the team will be staying.

U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura has said a political transition would be the main focus of the current round of the peace talks, aimed at ending Syria's five-year-old war, which has killed 250,000 people.

The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Syria's main opposition group, said on Thursday it was willing to share membership of a transitional governing body with current members of the government of President Bashar al-Assad, but not with Assad himself, the group's spokesman told Reuters in Geneva.

Assad has said he thinks the Geneva talks can produce a new Syrian government that includes opposition, independents and loyalists, but has explicitly rejected the idea of a transitional authority.

Russia and the United States disagree on Assad's future but have jointly pressed the Syrian government and the opposition to attend the indirect peace talks.

http://www.nrttv.com/en/Details.aspx?Jimare=6353