BERLIN (Sputnik) — The fresh round of Syrian settlement talks in Geneva has for the first time opened the way for a political resolution of the six-year conflict, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Thursday.
"A year on, there is now a chance to renew the Geneva talks between the Syrian regime and opposition to resolve the bloody civil war. An opportunity to stop the spiraling violence and find a way to achieve a real political process under UN auspices has appeared for the first time," Gabriel said, as quoted in a Foreign Ministry statement.
Syrian representatives have so far met with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. An official opening ceremony was held later.
The Geneva meeting comes after two rounds of ceasefire talks in Astana, where the sides held their first ever face-to-face meetings and hammered out plans to monitor the ongoing ceasefire in the country.