UN hosted Syria peace talks begin in Geneva
Indirect peace talks aimed at resolving Syria's five-year conflict began Friday at the UN headquarters in Geneva, without the participation of the main opposition group.
The talks are the first since two rounds of negotiations collapsed in 2014. Syria's conflict has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced millions and sent hundreds of thousands as refugees to Europe.
The first meeting was between the UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura and a government delegation headed by the country's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari. A UN spokesman said that he would later meet with other delegates, including civil society representatives.
