GENEVA: Talks to end Syria’s civil war opened in Geneva on Monday, but hopes for a breakthrough remained remote with the sides locked in a bitter dispute over the future of President Bashar al Assad.

The UN-hosted negotiations, which began a day before the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict, are the latest effort to end violence that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.

As the delegations arrived in Geneva over the weekend, Damascus warned that any discussion about removing Mr Assad would be a “red line”.

Top western diplomats immediately condemned the comment from Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem as divisive and provocative.

After his first official meeting with the regime on Monday, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters that “strong statements (and) rhetoric” were part of every tough negotiation and that his initial discussions with government representative Bashar al Jaafari were “useful”.

Speaking earlier, he said the talks quickly needed to focus on the ‘real’ issues. “What is the real issue?” he asked. “The mother of all issues (is) political transition.”

The UN envoy said the agenda for the negotiations would follow a Security Council resolution that calls for a transitional government to be formed in six months, and general elections within the following year.

A lot has changed since the last round of indirect talks collapsed in February, particularly for many of Syria’s war-ravaged people who have previously been deprived of regular access to life-saving aid.

A temporary ceasefire introduced on Feb 27 has largely held, despite accusations of violations from both sides, allowing aid to reach some 150,000 people living under siege.

The truce — the most significant since the conflict began — has sparked cautious encouragement.

But experts warn that negotiations will still struggle to achieve a durable peace on the fractured battlefields where multiple groups are competing for dominance.

Representatives from Syrian Kurdish groups, which have played a key role in combating jihadi fighters, have been excluded from the talks despite a push from Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s position on Monday, saying that “the whole spectrum of Syrian political forces” should have a voice in Geneva.

“Otherwise this cannot claim to be a representative forum,” he was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti state news agency.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2016