VIENNA: The UN special envoy for Syria said that peace talks due to resume in Vienna on Thursday are taking place 鈥渁t a very, very critical moment.鈥�
鈥淒efinitely I am optimistic because it is the only way to be at such moments,鈥� Staffan de Mistura said on Wednesday. 鈥淚t is a very, very critical moment.鈥�
He said a 鈥渇ull delegation of the opposition and a full delegation of the government鈥� would be in the Austrian capital for the two days of talks.
France鈥檚 foreign minister said meanwhile in Paris that the Vienna talks are the 鈥渓ast hope鈥� for reaching a political solution to the seven-year war.
鈥淭here is no prospect of a political solution today except, and it鈥檚 the last hope, the meeting that opens tomorrow in Vienna led by the United Nations and with all the stakeholders present,鈥� Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
Speaking in parliament, Le Drian also highlighted a 鈥渃onsiderable worsening of the humanitarian situation鈥� in Afrin, where Turkish forces are carrying out an offensive against a Kurdish militia, as well as in Idlib and in Eastern Ghouta.
The talks hosted by de Mistura in Vienna come after eight previous rounds in Geneva that failed to get the warring parties even to talk to each other.
The discussions have repeatedly stumbled over the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Representatives from his government have refused to meet the opposition directly until it drops demands that he leave office.
The talks come ahead of a peace conference in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi backed by Russia, Iran and Turkey on January 29-30.
Moscow initially hoped to convene peace talks in Sochi last November but those efforts collapsed following a lack of agreement among co-sponsors.
Syria鈥檚 main opposition group has said it would need 鈥渇ull and clear information鈥� before agreeing to take part, but government representatives have said they will attend.
Syria鈥檚 complex, multi-sided seven-year war has claimed more than 340,000 lives, forced millions to flee their homes and left Syria in ruins.
Bolstered by Russia鈥檚 intervention in 2015, Damascus has regained the upper hand militarily, retaking large swathes of rebel-held territory.
Russian-backed Syrian forces have also dealt severe blows to the Daesh group, whose self-proclaimed 鈥渃aliphate鈥� in Iraq and Syria has largely collapsed.
In December the first Russian troops began returning home after President Vladimir Putin ordered a pullout, saying their mission had been largely completed.
De Mistura has called on Putin to push the Assad regime to hold new elections, saying a military victory alone was not enough to 鈥渨in the peace.鈥�