No Substantive Results in Syria Talks: UN Envoy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Syria's peace talks are moving forward with greater ease but United Nations mediator Lakhdar Brahimi warned against expecting substantive results during this round.
Brahimi said on Wednesday that the "ice is breaking", calling the presence of both the government and the opposition at the negotiating table a step in the right direction.
"These people have not sat together for three years. They do not expect that there'll be a magic wand," Brahimi said, insisting he was "not disappointed."
Delegations from President Bashar al-Assad's government and the opposition National Coalition are set to determine on Friday when they will return to Geneva for the next round of talks, Brahimi said.
"I hope that the second session will be more structured and hopefully more productive than the first session," he added, Al Jazeera reported.
Opposition delegation spokesman Louay Safi told reporters that future talks needed to show "substantial progress".
"We're not going to stay here month after month just talking without progress," he said.
After days of deadlock, both sides voiced optimism on Wednesday, calling the talks "positive".
"Today we had a positive step forward because for the first time now we are talking about the transitional governing body," Safi said.
The opposition said it sees a transitional government as the first step towards a political solution and insisted that Assad leave power.
They claim that the Geneva I communique, a never-implemented roadmap developed during 2012 talks, calls for a transitional government.
But the government denies the document requires Assad to resign.
