United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura has arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus to meet officials ahead of a new round of peace talks in Geneva on Wednesday.

The UN diplomat is expected to hear the government’s stance on reforms. He will also visit the Iranian capital Tehran before the peace talks.

At the last round, which ended in late March, Damascus insisted it was premature to have a concrete dialogue on creating a transitional government, while the main opposition -- the High Negotiations Committee -- said President Bashar al Assad must go before a transitional government can be implemented.