A new round of Syria peace talks is expected to begin later this month in the Russian city of Sochi. But members of the Syrian opposition have already said they won't be attending. They've accused Russia of trying to sideline the UN-brokered talks. Lucy Taylor brings us more from Moscow.  

LUCY TAYLOR MOSCOW Russia and its allies have their work cut out for them already, because members of the Syrian opposition will not be at these talks in Sochi. It will be hard for Russia to achieve the gains it hopes. Now it says that the dialogue will help the process of creating a new constitution, and will work under the umbrella of the United-Nations led talks. But opposition fighters in Syria have accused Russia of trying to sideline the real talks, and holding a dialogue with hand-picked people by Damascus. They say Russia and Syria are trying to find a solution that suits President Assad. Either way, these talks will go ahead and many will hope for some progress, because they've been preceded of course by nine round of talks. And all sides have made little progress in ending a civil war which has seen the majority of Syrians driven from their home, and hundreds of thousands of people killed. Lucy Taylor, CGTN, Moscow.