De Mistura Wants to See Willingness to Reach Syria Peace Deal

The U.N.'s Syria envoy said Friday he was looking for confirmation that key international players were willing to push ahead with peace talks after he suspended the latest attempt at negotiations in Geneva.

In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Staffan de Mistura said he would meet next week in Munich with the countries that are part of an international group seeking a solution to Syria's five-year war, in particular the United States, Russia and Iran. 

"We will looking for confirmation at the defense conference in Munich on February 12," he told the paper.

"All the ministers who were in Vienna will be there and they will let us know how strongly they want to continue on this path," he said, referring to key talks between 17 nations in November that resulted in a roadmap to end the crisis. 

The U.N. envoy on Wednesday suspended the Geneva talks until February 25 as President Bashar Assad's troops continue an offensive against rebels and his Russian allies pound targets with air strikes.

But he said he would be ready "to resume (talks) before" that date -- as long as there was a chance to make progress

"I repeat: I won't talk for the sake of talking, it's not acceptable. We negotiate in order to find an agreement," the U.N. diplomat said. 

The U.N. Security Council will meet on Friday to hear an update from de Mistura on the status of the Syria peace efforts.