×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Syrian government says ready for further peace talks - state media

by Reuters
Sunday, 24 July 2016 09:13 GMT

New Syrian army recruits carry their plates before heading for their Iftar (breaking fast) meals at a military training camp in Damascus, Syria June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/ File Photo

Image Caption and Rights Information

"Syria is ready to continue the Syrian-Syrian dialogue without any preconditions and without foreign interference, with the support of the United Nations"

(Adds background)

BEIRUT, July 24 (Reuters) - Syria's government said on Sunday it was ready for further peace talks with the opposition and that it was intent on a political solution to the five-year conflict.

"Syria ... is ready to continue the Syrian-Syrian dialogue without any preconditions ... and without foreign interference, with the support of the United Nations," state news agency SANA quoted an official in the foreign ministry as saying.

The U.N. hopes to convene a new round of intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva in August, its Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said this week.

Previous rounds of talks this year broke down as fighting escalated, particularly around Aleppo, where government forces recently cut off the only road into rebel-held areas of the divided northern city.

The United States and Russia, which back opposing sides in the conflict, are meanwhile to discuss an American proposal for closer military cooperation and intelligence sharing on Syria to combat extremist groups.

Secretary of State John Kerry said this month that Washington and Damascus ally Moscow had reached a common understanding on the steps needed to get Syria's peace process back on track.

(Reporting by John Davison, editing by Louise Heavens)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->