UN Syria envoy Staffan De Mistura gestures during a press conference on efforts to restart peace talks during a press conference at the United Nations Offices on January 25, 2016 in Geneva. (Photo: AFP)
The UN said Thursday that there was no postponement of Syria peace talks due to start Friday in Geneva, despite uncertainty around whether the main opposition umbrella group would attend.
There is "no postponement from our side," Khawla Mattar, spokeswoman for the talks, told AFP as the High Negotiations Committee -- formed last month in an effort to unite Syria's fractious opposition -- said in Riyadh it was waiting for answers from the United Nations before agreeing to attend.
Meanwhile, Syria peace talks due to start in Switzerland on Friday "cannot fail," the chief UN mediator in the conflict said in a video message to the Syrian people Thursday.
"You have seen enough conferences, two of them already taken place," Staffan de Mistura said on the eve of the intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva. "This one cannot fail."
*The story was edited by Ahram Online.
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