Syria peace talks to resume in Vienna on 25-26 January

Syria peace talks to resume in Vienna on 25-26 January
The UN will host a new round of peace talks on Syria next week in Vienna, just days before Russia opens a conference on ending the war.
2 min read
18 January, 2018
The last round of UN-backed Syria peace talks were concluded in mid-December in Geneva. [Getty]

The United Nations will host a new round of peace talks on Syria next week in Vienna, a UN statement said on Wednesday, just days before Russia opens a conference on ending the war.

The 25-26 January talks will be followed by a peace congress in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on the 29 and 30 of January aimed at finding a settlement to the nearly seven-year war.

The UN said that special envoy Staffan de Mistura "expects that delegations will be coming to Vienna prepared for substantive engagement with him."

It added that "any political initiative by international actors should be assessed by its ability to contribute to and support the United Nations-facilitated Geneva political process and the full implementation of resolution 2254," a roadmap for ending the conflict set out in 2015.

On Tuesday the Syrian opposition announced their intention to attend the UN peace talks in Vienna.

The last round of UN-backed Syria peace talks were concluded in mid-December in Geneva, with no foreseeable progress to bringing the seven year conflict to an end.

Moscow has spearheaded the talks in Astana over the last year as it tries to turn its game-changing military intervention into a negotiated settlement.

Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted Turkish and Iranian talks in November - the first such three-way summit between the trio.

Syria's six-year war has claimed more than 340,000 lives, forced millions to flee their homes and left Syria in ruins.