30/01/2014 10:33
'Nothing substantive' from Syria talks – Brahimi
UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has said he does not expect to achieve "anything substantive" in the first round of Syria talks before they end on Friday, the BBC reported.
He said he was "not disappointed" and that "the ice is breaking slowly."
He also said that the UN and Syrian government were still negotiating on access for a humanitarian aid convoy into the besieged city of Homs.
Separately on Wednesday, US spy chief James Clapper warned about the growing number of foreign fighters in Syria.
He said that the Syrian militant group tied to al-Qaeda, the al-Nusra Front, wants to attack the US and is training a growing number of fighters from Europe, the Middle East and even America.
"Syria has become a huge magnet for extremists," he told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
He said there were about 26,000 fighters deemed to be "extremists" operating in Syria out of a total opposition force of 75,000 to 110,000 fighters.
The conflict had attracted roughly 7,000 foreign volunteers from some 50 countries, he said.
Mr Clapper said that their presence in Syria was of "tremendous concern" to the US and its allies, particularly European governments, which fear foreign fighters will return home to carry out attacks.