Syria talks start as scheduled in Geneva

Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar al Jaafari attends the opening of the Syrian peace talks at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

GENEVA -- UN-brokered Syria peace talks began as scheduled at Geneva's Palais de Nations on Friday.

Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura started the talks by meeting the Syrian government's delegation headed by the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN Bashar Jaafari.

However, it is still not clear if Syrian opposition members will participate in the talks. They recently called for an end to air strikes by government forces as a precursor to peace talks.

The talks strive to broker a lasting solution to the Syrian crisis which has been raging since 2011.

"The first priority will be the focus of the talks, of what most, if not all Syrians, want to hear: the possibility of a broad ceasefire and the possibility of stopping the threat of ISIL, and therefore thanks to a broad ceasefire, an increase of humanitarian aid," De Mistura told reporters earlier this week.