Saturday 25 January 2014 13.26 Syrian government and opposition delegations have held their first face-to-face meeting at the United Nations in Geneva in the presence of the international mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi.
During the half hour encounter the delegations did not talk directly but channeled their comments through Mr Brahimi.
The brief session was designed to set the rules for negotiations which should start this afternoon.
The talks in Geneva are aimed at ending almost three years of conflict.
In a measure of the task ahead, diplomatic sources said the first two days of talks will involve discussing a deal to allow aid into a single city, Homs, where people are starving.
Speaking this morning a Syrian government minister reiterated its rejection of a proposal to form a transitional ruling body as part of a political solution.
"We have complete reservations regarding it," Information Minister Omran Zoabi told reporters.
"Syria is a state with institutions," Mr Zoabi said.
"A transitional governing body happens where the state is in disintegration, or has no institutions."
The peace conference almost collapsed yesterday, the day face-to-face talks were meant to start, and was only put back on track after Lakhdar Brahimi persuaded the two sides to focus on smaller issues on which there might be agreement.
"We do expect some bumps on the road," Mr Brahimi told a news conference after separate meetings with the two delegations.
With international divisions over how to end the conflict putting an overall political solution out of reach for now, the two sides will focus on small, confidence-building steps with no certainty negotiations will even last the week.
"Both parties will be here...they will not leave on Saturday or Sunday," Mr Brahimi said.
Humanitarian access for Homs, where rebels are surrounded in central districts by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, could be agreed quickly.
"The practical aspects have been worked on. Things are ready and if the government doesn't put a block on it then it could happen quickly," a diplomatic source said.
But deep mutual mistrust and the absence from Geneva of powerful Islamist opposition groups and Mr Assad's ally Iran make any substantial progress very difficult.
The opposition said early on Friday it would not meet the government side unless it first agreed to publicly endorse a 2012 statement by world powers calling for a transitional government in Syria.
The government rejected the demand and said its negotiators would leave Geneva unless serious talks began within a day.
After talking to both sides, Mr Brahimi indicated yesterday afternoon the argument, which centres on whether Mr Assad would have to step down, had been put to one side.
"We have agreed that we shall meet in the same room," Mr Brahimi said. The negotiations would be based on the 2012 statement, known as Geneva 1, which he acknowledged was subject to differing interpretations.
"We wanted these delegations nominated months ago to prepare things better," he said.
Diplomats are playing down any hopes of progress.
"Expectations are so low we'll see how things develop day by day," a Western diplomat said.
Mr Brahimi has already indicated that his aim is to start by seeking practical steps, such as local ceasefires, prisoner releases and access for international aid deliveries, before embarking on the tougher political negotiations.
"I think an immediate political solution is unrealistic, unfortunately," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France 24 television.
Syria's civil war has already killed at least 130,000people, driven more than a third of the country's 22 million people from their homes and made half dependent on aid, including hundreds of thousands cut off by fighting.
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