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Pope urges Geneva peace talks to end Syrian conflict

by Reuters
Wednesday, 22 January 2014 10:33 GMT

VATICAN CITY, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged participants at peace talks in Switzerland on Wednesday to urgently agree to end the civil war in Syria that has killed over 100,000 people.

Syria's government and its enemies must "not spare any efforts to urgently reach a stop to the violence and end to the conflict, which has already caused so much suffering," Francis told pilgrims at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square.

"I wish for the dear Syrian nation a decisive path towards reconciliation, harmony and reconstruction with the participation of all citizens, where everyone can find in his fellow not an enemy, not an adversary, but a brother to accept and embrace."

A delegation of senior prelates from the Vatican is attending the talks mediated by the United Nations. The Holy See has repeatedly called for an end to a conflict that has stretched on for three years, unsettling the Middle East. (Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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