Assad has however given more credit to a separate diplomatic track in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, which is being led by his allies Russian Federation and Iran along with opposition supporter Turkey.
Since it broke out in March 2011, Syria's conflict has killed more than 320,000 people, displaced millions and ravaged the country's economy and infrastructure.
Mr Assad has also recently called the Geneva process "null", telling Belarus's ONT channel that it had become "merely a meeting for the media".
The Geneva round of talks comes on the heels of a deal by Russia, Turkey and Iran to arrange and monitor "de-escalation zones" in Syria to ease the fighting.
Delegations are expected to arrive in Geneva on Monday, a day before the talks start.
The UN's Syria envoy has defended the peace process that he is orchestrating in Geneva and denied that if offers the Assad regime a smokescreen for attacks on rebels, after the Syrian leader dismissed it as an irrelevance that was just for show. The delegation from the Syrian regime is headed by Bashar al-Ja'aafari.
"The key to success in this process is a transition to a free Syria, with no role for Bashar al-Assad or for terrorism", Hariri told reporters in Geneva.
Trump shared highly classified info with visiting Russian officials
Reporters started gathering in the hallway outside Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office right after the Post story broke. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also urged the Trump administration to give any tapes to Congress.
De Mistura said the Geneva talks would be working all week on the "four baskets" he has previously set out: a credible non-sectarian transitional government; a future constitution largely drafted by Russian Federation; early and free parliamentary elections within 18 months; and a united war against terrorism within Syria. The opposition will be represented by the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee and led again by Nasr al-Hariri and Mohammad Sabra.
"In terms of actually trying to stabilise Syria, the main effect of pegging peace to transition has been to marginalise the United Nations in Geneva and shift attention to Astana instead", he said.
"There is a reciprocal relationship between Astana meeting and Geneva meeting and enforcing the cease-fire is something fundamental and important for creating the suitable climates for serious talks and at the same time the cease-fire could never have continuity without political prospects and this is a very important issue", he noted. Not even one per million.
"As to Astana, the situation is different".
"Facts on the ground" - United Nations jargon meaning "war" - will not produce a political solution to the intractable conflict which all sides had committed, he said.
"After the Astana meeting which took place and which we attended proactively, there has been some outcomes that we find extremely, potentially, promising and we want to connect, as much as possible, that outcome with some political horizon", de Mistura said.
Comments