A new round of UN-brokered peace talks over Syria is due to continue in Vienna. The two-day talks began on Thursday.

The head of the Syrian government delegation, Bashar al-Ja'afari, said the meeting was good after the first day of talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. He declined to elaborate. An opposition delegation arrived shortly before Ja-afari left. But there was no sign the warring sides had met. Previous rounds of UN-sponsored talks have made little progress. The talks come a few days before Russia hosts separate negotiations in its Black Sea resort of Sochi.