国际英语新闻:New UN-led peace talks on Syria kick off in Geneva

GENEVA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A new round of intra-Syrian talks aiming at ending the seven years of war in the country started here on Monday.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Monday met with the Syrian government delegation headed by Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari for bilateral talks.

De Mistura is expected to meet Syrian opposition representatives later in the day.

A UN source said this new peace effort, the seventh of its kind, is scheduled to go on until July 14.

"In addition to the formal sessions of the intra-Syrian talks, expert meetings of the consultative process on constitutional and legal issues established during the last round will continue," the UN said in a statement.

Further rounds of talks have been scheduled in August and September.

Monday talks came after a cease-fire in southern Syria brokered last Friday by the United States and Russia, which provides a relatively better atmosphere for negotiations.