Syrian regime boycotts Geneva talks for 2nd day

GENEVA

The Syrian regime on Tuesday continued its boycott of the second round of the Syrian Constitutional Committee meetings.

The boycott of the ongoing talks in Geneva which started Monday has now entered it second day.

The regime delegation left the talks after its proposal of entering three new items on the agenda was rejected by some representatives of local NGOs.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee -- comprising opposition, civil society, and regime members -- started the talks on Nov. 20 with UN facilitation.

The committee is mandated within the context of a UN-facilitated Geneva process, to prepare and draft for popular approval of constitutional reforms paving the way for a political settlement in Syria.

UN Syria Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen has met with both co-chairs of the committee to discuss the agenda and each of them submitted a proposal for the agenda, his spokeswoman Jennifer Fenton told reporters.

"There is no agreement on the agenda and the discussions are continuing," she said.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet in Ankara