Talks 'postponed'
The timing of Geneva talks on the Syrian conflict was thrown into doubt yesterday, as the UN said it could not confirm a Russian statement that they had been postponed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a meeting with minor Syrian opposition delegates in Moscow that the UN-hosted talks planned for February 8 had been "put back until the end of next month".
The news comes after negotiations between Syrian government and rebel representatives in Kazakhstan wrapped up on Tuesday without any tangible progress in finding a political solution to the war in Syria, which has claimed more than 310,000 lives since it started in 2011.
A spokeswoman for UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said there was "no confirmation" the February talks had been postponed.
"We're going to be sure when the special envoy is back" from talks on the issue in New York next week with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci also said that the list of those invited to the Geneva talks has not been finalised.
The main opposition groups stayed away from yesterday's meeting in Moscow with Lavrov, as the Kremlin seeks to impose its influence as the key powerbroker in Syria.
Key players Russia, Turkey and Iran backed the Astana talks and the main result was an agreement by the three sides to try to shore up a shaky ceasefire on the ground in the war-torn country.
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