Syria’s government and opposition representatives started a new session of Geneva 2 peace talks on 10 February.

The initial session, which took place at the end of January, ended with the promise to evacuate civilians trapped on both sides of the conflict from the besieged area of Homs. While no firm agreements had been reached, the UN’s Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had said that some “common ground” had been reached.

At the second session of the UN-backed conference, talks with Brahimi were scheduled to be held behind closed doors. It was not announced whether the two sides would at some point sit at the same table on the first day.

The Geneva 2 conference marks the beginning of a political process towards the de-escalation of the Syrian war, which in its third year has seen more than 130,000 people killed.

The aim is to create a transitional government following “free and fair” elections under a new constitutions, although prospects are bleak that that will be achieved at the talks.

Both sides refuse to negotiate on whether President Bashar al-Assad should stay or go, with external actors also treating the issue as a zero-sum game. The weak political representation at the conference, which lacks high-ranking security chiefs and the participation of other major opposition groups, adds to the deadlock.