Resuming Syrian peace talks on the scheduled date of February 25 is not a realistic option, Al Arabiya quoted United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura as telling a Swedish newspaper on Thursday.

"I cannot realistically send out invitations to new talks in Geneva on Feb 25, but we intend to do so soon," he added.

"We need 10 days' preparation. But the talks can be successful if emergency aid continues and we get a ceasefire."

De Mistura suspended a first round of talks on Feb. 3, saying there was more work to be done by the big powers sponsoring the talks.

International powers agreed to try to bring about a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria's five-year civil war this week. Russia said it hopes a ceasefire can be agreed on Friday, when Russian and US military officials are due to meet.

Source: MENA