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Syria's opposition and government will meet "in the same room" in Geneva
on Saturday after the first day of a peace conference ended with no
direct talks.
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi: "The huge ambition of this project is to save Syria, no less than that"
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who held talks with both sides on Friday, said they all understood that the conference was trying to "save Syria".
The two sides have blamed each other for a lack of progress.
Diplomats say they are now aiming at small concessions such as local truces rather than an overall peace deal.
Diplomatic sources say the hope is over the next two days for the talks to focus on getting humanitarian aid into besieged areas of the city of Homs - something the US, Russia and the UN have reportedly been focusing on.
'Encouraging discussions'
The delegates are reportedly still not prepared to talk to each other directly, but are expected to communicate via Mr Brahimi.
"Tomorrow everybody will be in the same room but everybody will address Mr Lakhdar Brahimi," Louay Safi, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition, told reporters late on Friday.
Preliminary talks began on Wednesday in Montreux, and Mr Brahimi spent Thursday and Friday attempting to persuade both sides to agree to meet face-to-face.
Friday was supposed to be the first day of official talks, but neither side would meet the other.
Instead, Mr Brahimi met government delegates in the morning, and the opposition in the afternoon.
On Friday, the government's delegation reportedly threatened to quit the talks unless "serious" discussions were scheduled for Saturday.
Syria's civil conflict has claimed well over 100,000 lives since it began in 2011.
The violence has also driven 9.5 million people from their homes, creating a major humanitarian crisis within Syria and for its neighbours.
Fundamental divide
At a news conference in the afternoon, Mr Brahimi said both sides had agreed to meet in the same room.
"The discussions I've had with the two parties were encouraging, and we are looking forward to our meetings," he said.
"The huge ambition of this project is to save Syria. I hope that all three parties - the opposition, the government and the United Nations - will be up to this task."
The opposition and government are fundamentally divided over the aims of the conference.
The government delegation has said the main issue of the talks is finding a solution to foreign-backed "terrorism", by which it means the whole of the armed opposition.
The opposition, however, had insisted that the regime commit in writing to the 2012 Geneva I communique, which called for a transition process.
The communique urged Syria to form transitional governing authority that "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups".
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi: "The huge ambition of this project is to save Syria, no less than that"UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who held talks with both sides on Friday, said they all understood that the conference was trying to "save Syria".
The two sides have blamed each other for a lack of progress.
Diplomats say they are now aiming at small concessions such as local truces rather than an overall peace deal.
Diplomatic sources say the hope is over the next two days for the talks to focus on getting humanitarian aid into besieged areas of the city of Homs - something the US, Russia and the UN have reportedly been focusing on.
"The practical aspects have been worked on,
things are ready and if the government doesn't put a block on it then it
could happen quickly," an unnamed official told Reuters news agency.
The forces of President Bashar al-Assad have surrounded rebel-held areas of Homs for more than a year.'Encouraging discussions'
The delegates are reportedly still not prepared to talk to each other directly, but are expected to communicate via Mr Brahimi.
"Tomorrow everybody will be in the same room but everybody will address Mr Lakhdar Brahimi," Louay Safi, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition, told reporters late on Friday.
Preliminary talks began on Wednesday in Montreux, and Mr Brahimi spent Thursday and Friday attempting to persuade both sides to agree to meet face-to-face.
Friday was supposed to be the first day of official talks, but neither side would meet the other.
Instead, Mr Brahimi met government delegates in the morning, and the opposition in the afternoon.
On Friday, the government's delegation reportedly threatened to quit the talks unless "serious" discussions were scheduled for Saturday.
Syria's civil conflict has claimed well over 100,000 lives since it began in 2011.
The violence has also driven 9.5 million people from their homes, creating a major humanitarian crisis within Syria and for its neighbours.
Fundamental divide
At a news conference in the afternoon, Mr Brahimi said both sides had agreed to meet in the same room.
"The discussions I've had with the two parties were encouraging, and we are looking forward to our meetings," he said.
"The huge ambition of this project is to save Syria. I hope that all three parties - the opposition, the government and the United Nations - will be up to this task."
The opposition and government are fundamentally divided over the aims of the conference.
The government delegation has said the main issue of the talks is finding a solution to foreign-backed "terrorism", by which it means the whole of the armed opposition.
The opposition, however, had insisted that the regime commit in writing to the 2012 Geneva I communique, which called for a transition process.
The communique urged Syria to form transitional governing authority that "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups".
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