By Dominic Evans and Samia Nakhoul MONTREUX, Switzerland (Reuters) - A U.N. envoy was to meet delegations from Syria's government and its foes on Lake Geneva on Thursday, trying to salvage peace talks after an acrimonious start by focusing on local ceasefires and prisoner swaps rather than a political deal. The first day of the talks on Wednesday was dominated by fierce rhetoric from President Bashar al-Assad's government and its foes. Despite the bitterness, officials still hope they can salvage the process by starting with more modest, practical measures to ease the plight of millions of people on the ground, especially in areas cut off from international aid. "We have had some fairly clear indications that the parties are willing to discuss issues of access to needy people, the liberation of prisoners and local ceasefires," U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said.
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January 23rd, 2014
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