Sputnik News- UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura urged all parties at the intra-Syrian talks "to end horrible conflict and lay foundation for country peaceful and unified."

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Thursday called on all parties at the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva to work together toward peaceful and unified Syria.

"Let's try to work together to end horrible conflict and lay foundation for country peaceful and unified," de Mistura said at the opening of the new round of talks.

He also praised the progress achieved on the Astana platform of the Syrian settlement.

"Let me express appreciation to the initiators of Astana effort — Russia, Turkey, Iran and Kazakhstan — to what they have done to put in place ceasefire in Syria. It is fragile but it is there. And we did not have any for several months. Initiative has jump-started the effort we are now starting and opened a window of opportunity to see… if there is a political move forward. We want to use this window," the UN high-ranking official stressed.

The UN special envoy also noted the progress achieved in bringing a united Syrian opposition delegation forward in Geneva.

"Serious progress has been made in past weeks and even past hours in moving toward an inclusive united opposition delegation. There is still some work to be done in this regard," de Mistura stressed.