MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The previous round of the Syrian peace talks in Geneva finished on March 24. The round saw all delegations submit their settlement proposals to UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who then produced a final paper with points of convergence between the parties.
The Syrian peace talks followed a Russian-US-brokered ceasefire deal reached on February 27. On March 14, Putin ordered Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to start withdrawing most of Russia's military contingent from Syria, which had been conducting airstrikes against terrorist targets since late September.
"The Syrian government, the Syrian people are highly interested in the negotiations on the settlement on the basis of the preservation of statehood, sovereignty and independence, and are ready to talk with any constructive opposition, which acts independently and bases their interests on these principles," Yushchenko who is a member of the Russian delegation visiting Damascus said.
