International mediators make efforts for Syria peace talks

International mediators opened a series of meetings with the Syrian Government and Opposition on Thursday in an 11th—hour bid to secure their participation in peace talks scheduled for the next day.

Arab League and UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and a team of diplomats met separately with Damascus and the Opposition in Geneva in a bid to reach a consensus over the framework of what would be the first direct talks between the two sides since the outbreak of the conflict in March 2011.

The mediation came a day after an acrimonious start to the talks in Montreux, during which the two sides swapped accusations and challenged each other’s legitimacy, clashing over the intended focus of the US— and Russia—backed talks in an opening ceremony attended by more than 40 countries.

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