The first round of the Syrian constitution talks concluded

At the end of the first round of meetings of the Syrian Constitution Committee in Geneva, the UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said that both sides agreed on several things, but stressed the difficulty of the talks and the existence of files have not yet opened.

"The discussions are sometimes very difficult, and it takes courage to listen to the other side's defense of their views on these issues," Pedersen told reporters on Friday.

The envoy said the talks, which began on October 30, "went better than most people expected," adding that the next round of talks would begin on November 25.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Geneva said that the first round of meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee - composed of representatives of the regime, the opposition and civil society - ended without achieving a fundamental breakthrough.

Reuters news agency said delegates spoke of a charged atmosphere in which both sides did not shake hands. She pointed out that the delegation of the Syrian regime sought to hold the next round of talks in Damascus, which the opposition strongly resisted.

Talks with bombing
The head of the Syrian opposition negotiating committee, Nasr al-Hariri, complained of the regime's continued shelling of Idlib countryside and other Syrian areas in parallel with the meetings of the constitutional committee, and called on the international community to work to impose a ceasefire in northern Syria.

Hadi al-Bahra, co-chairman of the constitutional committee from the opposition side, said the talks were not easy, noting that he had not yet shaken hands with his regime representative. He added that everyone should act rationally, overcome differences and focus on the points that unite the Syrians.

We will not build a new state
The co-chairman of the commission, by the regime, Ahmed al-Kuzbari, said the committee's task is not to build a new state. He ruled out reaching any outcome that would change the status quo.

The Syrian talks are focused on the constitution with the aim of holding elections at the end of the day, a lower agenda than was included in UN-sponsored talks earlier in the war.

The 150 delegates agreed in Geneva last week to set up a 45-member committee to draft a constitution that would eventually be submitted to voters.

After 10 days of talks, no agreement was reached on the release of thousands of detainees, an issue that Pedersen considered necessary to build confidence.

There was also no agreement on whether the members of the Drafting Committee would amend the 2012 Constitution or begin writing a new constitution.

Delegates said the talks had always been fraught, particularly with regard to the issue of "terrorism", a term the regime uses to refer to armed factions.