Jun 14, 2018

The UN envoy for Syria said Thursday he will try to kickstart work towards a new constitution for the war-ravaged

country with a series of meetings in the coming weeks.

Staffan de Mistura told reporters he plans to sit down with senior officials from Damascus-backers Russia and Iran as well as opposition supporter Turkey at the United Nations on Monday and Tuesday.

He has also scheduled talks at the UN the following week with envoys from Britain, France, Germany, Jordan, the United States and Saudi Arabia -- another key opposition backer.

The talks are aimed at creating a commission to hammer out a post-war constitution, an effort that the UN has been asked to facilitate.