A senior Russian official told reporters Tuesday that talks between the Syrian regime and opposition in Switzerland will last seven to 10 days and will be followed by another round of talks, according to Agence France-Presse.
"The first round of negotiations will last for seven to 10 days. There will then be a short break, and then the talks will resume," said a Russian delegation official to the Interfax news agency.
The highly-anticipated talks coined Geneva II are set to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux. Nearly 40 countries are expected to attend to participate in efforts to find a solution to end the Syrian crisis.
Direct talks between representatives from the Syrian regime under President Bashar Al Assad and the opposition delegation are scheduled to begin Friday in Geneva and will be overseen by UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
US and Russian officials will observe Friday's direct talks, according to the Russian delegation official.
"If it becomes necessary, the seniority level of the Russian and US representatives in Geneva observing the negotiating process may be raised," RIA Novosti news agency quoted the Russian official as saying.
