GENEVA: The second round of talks between representatives of the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition is set to begin in the Swiss city of Geneva on Monday.
The UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is mediating the negotiations, aimed at finding a solution to the three-year conflict in Syria.
The first round of the peace talks in Geneva ended inconclusively on January 31 amid sharp differences between representatives from the Syrian government and the Syrian national coalition.
The opposition and its Western supporters insist that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down, giving way to the formation of a transitional government in Syria.
But the Syrian government says Assad’s role is not up for debate in Geneva, and that his future role is a red line. It also argues that the foreign-backed opposition does not represent the Syrian opposition.
More than 130‚000 people have been killed and 9 million forced to leave their homes since the conflict began between Assad’s forces and rebels in 2011.
