Geneva: Talks between the UN special envoy for Syria and government representatives tentatively planned for Monday 11:00 am (1000 GMT) in Geneva have been "rescheduled" to allow talks with the opposition first, the UN said.


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Khawla Mattar, spokeswoman for special envoy Staffan de Mistura, told AFP there was "the need to meet" with opposition first, and that a meeting with the government would happen "maybe another day".


Discussions with the opposition umbrella group the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) were still expected to take place at the UN`s European headquarters at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT), the UN said.


The HNC, which only reluctantly showed up late Saturday and held informal talks with de Mistura on Sunday in a Geneva hotel, is hesitating about entering formal indirect talks envisioned under a November roadmap agreed by outside powers.


It is demanding first that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad`s regime allows humanitarian access to besieged towns, stops bombarding civilians and releases prisoners.


The regime`s chief envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari, who arrived in Geneva on Friday when he held talks with de Mistura, said Sunday the HNC was "not serious".


The hoped-for "proximity talks" are the biggest push to date to chart a way out of the tangled almost five-year-old war that has killed more than 260,000 people and forced millions from their homes.​