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UN hopes to hit 'moving target' of Syria talks by late January

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura hopes to hold the first talks between representatives of the Syrian regime and opposition in almost two years in Geneva by the end of January.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) speaks to the media next to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura during a news conference at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, December 18, 2015. The United Nations Security Council on Friday unanimously agreed a resolution endorsing an international roadmap for a Syria peace process, a rare show of unity among major powers on a conflict that has claimed more than a qua

WASHINGTON — United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura plans to hold the first talks in almost two years between representatives of the Syrian regime and opposition toward the end of January, a senior UN official said Dec. 22, though he acknowledged the Syria diplomatic process is a “moving target.”

“Almost everybody wants these talks to be successful so that we can finally get a political solution to this really unacceptable problem,” Michael Moller, the director general of the UN office in Geneva, said at a press conference Dec. 22.

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