The United Nations said Wednesday it would host a new round of peace talks on Syria in Vienna next week, days before a Russian conference on ways to end the war began.
The talks, scheduled for January 25 and 26 in Vienna, will be followed by a peace conference in the Russian seaside resort of Sochi on June 29 and 30 in a bid to find a settlement to the Syrian conflict that has been going on for nearly seven years.
The United Nations said UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura “expects delegates to come to Vienna ready for substantive work with him.”
“Any political initiative by international parties must be assessed by its ability to contribute to the support of the Geneva-sponsored political process and the full implementation of resolution 2254,” a road map to end the conflict prepared in 2015, it added.
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 340,000 people, displaced millions and devastated the country.
