United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says there is a
very small window of opportunity for the Syrian government
and opposition to hold talks on ending the civil war.
Syria's government has shown increased willingness to hold
talks with the opposition to end the two-year conflict that
has killed 70,000 people.
At a news conference in Geneva, Ban said he would meet his
Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Switzerland on Saturday (local
time) for private talks.
"This is a very small window of opportunity which we strongly
support and encourage them to use that. The opportunity may
soon close," Ban said.
The situation in Syria was deteriorating and it was crucial
to stop the violence and start a political dialogue, he said.
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday the
government would even speak to armed rebels. On Thursday, it
extended passport terms for its nationals abroad, meeting a
condition set by the opposition for talks.
Moaz al-Khatib, head of the opposition Syrian National
Coalition, said he would speak to President Bashar al-Assad's
representatives if expired passports were extended for two
years.
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