The Moscow-backed Syrian constitutional committee has met for the first time under UN auspices to chart a political settlement and to end the eight-and -a-half-year civil war.
Foreign ministers from Russia, Iran and Turkey congregated in Geneva, overseen by UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pederson, with expectations low that the Syrian government will see the need to make any major political concessions to secure western recognition.
The aim of the meeting is to agree on a new constitution for Syria, but it is unclear if this will mean redrafting the existing constitution, written in 2012, or starting from scratch.
No deadline has been set for the end of talks, but Pedersen has said all sides had promised to work expeditiously.