(VOVworld)- After two days of shuttling between nearby rooms, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says that delegations from the Syrian government and opposition will today talk face to face for the first time.

The direct talks were expected to begin yesterday. But the opposition refused to sit in the same room as their foes until the government agreed in writing to the Geneva I communique. That document, put together in 2012, sets out the basis for a transitional government. Despite a fraught start, Brahimi insists that the talks are back on track.