GENEVA — Peace talks aimed at ending Syria’s five-year civil war got off to a shaky and chaotic start Friday, with the main opposition group at first boycotting the session then agreeing to meet with U.N. officials — while still insisting it would not negotiate.
That small commitment by the group known as the Higher Negotiating Committee came just minutes before U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura met with a delegation representing the government of President Bashar Assad.
The developments gave a glimmer of hope that peace efforts in Syria might get off the ground for the first time since two earlier rounds of negotiations collapsed in 2014.
The HNC, a Saudi-backed bloc, had said it would not participate in the U.N.-sponsored talks without an end to the bombardment of civilians by Russian and Syrian forces, a lifting of blockades in rebel-held areas and the release of detainees.
