The UN special envoy for Syria announced on Wednesday a "temporary pause" until February 25 of troubled talks in Switzerland aimed at ending the civil war.<br />"There's more work to be done," Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva.<br />His comments came after several days of fruitless talks aimed at starting indirect negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition.<br />The opposition umbrella group High Negotiations Committee only reluctantly arrived in Geneva on Saturday, a day after representatives from President Bashar al-Assad.<br />The HNC was insisting on immediate steps including humanitarian aid getting through to besieged cities, a halt to the bombardment of civilians and the release of prisoners.<br />The government delegation meanwhile complained that the HNC was disorganized, had not named its negotiators and that the body contained individuals it considered "terrorists".
