Syria peace talks to start on May 16: UN

A new round of United Nations-backed peace talks for war-ravaged Syria is set to begin in Geneva next week, the office of the UN mediator said Monday.

"Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura will reconvene the intra-Syrian talks under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on 16 May 2017," the UN said in a statement.

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The announcement comes days after regime backers Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey signed a deal in the Kazakh capital Astana to strengthen a ceasefire agreed upon last December by implementing "de-escalation zones" where the government and opposition will halt hostilities.

De Mistura, who was in Astana as an observer, hailed that deal as "an important, promising, positive step in the right direction" toward de-escalation.

On Monday, his office said the UN mediator hoped last week's Astana agreement "will be implemented in full -- thus bringing about a significant de-escalation in violence, and helping shape an environment conducive to the political intra-Syrian talks in Geneva."

Years of diplomatic initiatives have failed to end Syria's war, which has killed more than 320,000 and displaced millions since it started in March 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.