Deputy Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy of the United Nations invited the Damascus government on Sunday to new peace talks with the opposition at the end of August, drawing a positive response from the government, according to Agence France Presse. Two previous rounds of talks this year ended in failure.
After meeting Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad, Ramzy said, "I explained to the minister how we intend to proceed, and we discussed how to render this process of political transition which has already been endorsed by the Security Council to be a credible one, and we exchanged views on that." Ramzy said Muallem, "confirmed the intention of the Syrian government to participate in these talks once they are held."