Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


                       Syria Talks Off to Difficult Start

   by Luis Ramirez

   After being delayed from Monday, talks are set to get underway in
   Geneva Friday on what promises to be a long road to peace in Syria
   where the conflict - soon entering its sixth year - has killed a
   quarter of a million people.

   Just hours before the start, it was still unclear who would take part
   in the talks, which organizers say will not be peace negotiations, but
   proximity talks meant to lay the groundwork for negotiations.

   Syrian government representatives decided to attend after discussions
   earlier this month with U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura in
   Damascus.

   Despite the odds presented by an escalating campaign by both the
   Russian-backed Syrian government and a fractured opposition that
   includes al-Qaida and Islamic State terrorists, the U.N. envoy sees the
   talks as an important first step. "My job is to be always optimistic,"
   he said after his meetings with Assad government officials recently.

   De Mistura sent out invitations to the talks on Tuesday. U.N. officials
   indicated the list would not be made public until the start of the
   talks.

   Setting the stage for negotiations has proven a difficult and fragile
   process. The talks are starting against a backdrop of unceasing
   violence.

   On Tuesday, two bombs killed 22 people in Homs, an opposition
   stronghold now largely back under government control. The Islamic State
   group claimed responsibility.

   As U.N.-designated terrorists, Islamic State militants are not invited
   to the Geneva talks. Amid speculation by some in the opposition that
   another delay could happen, organizers are working until the last
   minute to avoid the talks being spoiled before they start.

   ''Separate rooms, no face-to-face

   For one, organizers are leaving potential troublemakers off the list of
   participants.

   After Turkey threatened to withdraw support of the process, word came
   from France that the Syrian Kurdish party, whose forces have been
   supported by both the U.S. and Russia, was out. "The PYD, the Kurdish
   group which was causing the most problems, Mr. de Mistura told me he
   had not sent them an invitation letter," French Foreign Minister
   Laurent Fabius told reporters in Paris Wednesday.

   Once talks start in Geneva, the plan is to keep all parties in separate
   rooms, with no face-to-face meetings.

   The important thing, say analysts, is that something is being done.
   David Butter, a Middle East politics expert at Chatham House in London,
   said the outcome of the talks is uncertain at best, but they may serve
   as a necessary sign that the world community is doing something to stop
   a seemingly endless and profoundly destabilizing conflict.

    "This is a realistic appraisal of international consensus that we need
   to have some sort of political process going on, perhaps a recognition
   of the parties, certainly the opposition parties, that they're starting
   to get exhausted with the conflict itself and it has been so damaging
   on every level, humanitarian and otherwise," Butter said.

   Pressure to enter into negotiations is largely external, with the
   United States, the European Union, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia all
   pushing for a solution.

   In the West, that urgency has been fed by terrorist attacks in Paris
   and the United States, and by the migrant crisis. The number of
   migrants flowing mainly from Syria and Iraq to Western Europe is
   expected to reach four million by the end of next year. Officials say
   nearly 40,000 have entered Western Europe in the three weeks since the
   start of 2016.

   On Thursday, there were renewed doubts of whether the talks would start
   on Friday as planned.

   ''A major opposition group known as the Saudi-backed High Negotiations
   Committee said it is postponing its decision to attend. The group,
   meeting in Riyadh this week, wants to be the only opposition delegation
   at the talks and was awaiting a response from de Mistura with details
   on who else will be attending before deciding whether to go to Geneva.

   The talks had been set to begin on January 25 but were delayed to
   Friday by discussions on who should represent the opposition.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-peace-talks/3166420.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-peace-talks/3166420.html