DAMASCUS– The latest round of Syria peace talks has gotten underway in Geneva with U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura hosting a delegation from the main opposition group.
Envoys from the opposition High Negotiations Committee arrived on Wednesday at the U.N. office in the Swiss city for the third round of indirect “proximity” talks organized by de Mistura.
The U.N. envoy hopes to make progress toward a political transition in Syria as sought under a U.N. Security Council resolution and efforts led by Russia and the United States that paved the way for the talks to resume in February after a two-year hiatus.
A delegation from Assad’s government is expected to arrive later this week, amid delays over the holding of parliament elections in government-controlled parts of Syria. Members of the opposition have denounced the process, which is taking place amid a raging civil war, and have called for a boycott.
Western leaders denounced the elections, which are only being held in government-controlled areas, as a sham and a provocation that undermines the Geneva peace talks.
Britain says the Syrian government’s decision to hold elections in the war-divided country shows “how divorced it is from reality.”
The U.K. government said in a statement that Wednesday’s elections conducted by President Bashar Assad’s government are not in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for elections in Syria after an 18-month transitional process.
The statement said the elections “cannot buy back legitimacy by putting up a flimsy facade of democracy.”
It noted that hundreds of thousands of people live in besieged towns and cities, and millions have fled their homes – many into exile – and thus cannot vote.
Britain also urged “the regime’s backers, especially Russia” to pressure Syria’s government to engage in discussion about political transition in U.N.-sponsored peace talks resuming Wednesday in Geneva.
Members of the opposition have denounced the process, which is taking place amid a raging civil war, and have called for a boycott.
Germany says it won’t accept the results of parliamentary elections being held by Bashar Assad’s government.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that “holding free and fair elections is simply impossible in the current situation, with all the refugees, in a full civil war situation.”
Schaefer says the German government “will not accept the elections being organized by the Assad regime, and also will not accept the results.”
Proximity talks involve de Mistura meeting separately with the two delegations in hopes of ending the five-year war.
The U.N. envoy for Syria will host a delegation from the main opposition group as indirect peace talks involving envoys from Bashar Assad’s government resume in Geneva.
Staffan de Mistura and members of opposition High Negotiations Committee were to speak to reporters after Wednesday’s start of the third round of talks that began in February but have been suspended twice for breaks.

Source: The Associated Press, April 13