A senior UN official says the Syrian government has confirmed that it wants to participate in the next round of peace talks. The UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, made the remark after meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister in Damascus.

Last week, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said in Geneva that he wanted to start the third round of intra-Syrian talks. The two previous ones failed. 

His announcement came amid ongoing fighting between government troops and the opposition over the siege of Aleppo.