(VOVworld) – The Syrian government said Tuesday that its latest session of talks with UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura was a “useful and constructive round”.

Head of the Syrian government delegation Bashar Ja'afari. (Photo: AP)

Bashar Ja'afari, Head of the Syrian government delegation, spoke briefly to reporters after meeting de Mistura on Tuesday, a day before the two-week round was due to end in Geneva.

A Syrian opposition group has asked the UN to merge all opposition factions into one delegation at the next round of peace talks, according to former Deputy Premier Qadri Jamil, who was sacked by President Bashar al-Assad in 2013 and now heads an opposition faction which met separately with de Mistura in Geneva. De Mistura is struggling to keep negotiations alive after the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) abandoned formal talks last week over a surge in violence and stalled aid convoys.