Italy's foreign ministry on Wednesday hailed the start of United Nations backed talks in Geneva between government and opposition representatives aimed at drafting a new Syrian constitution.
The talks attended by 150 delegates representing Syria's government, opposition and various sectors of civil society are "the first tangible step in the political process on the Syrian crisis," said the statement.
The statement praised UN special envoy Geir Pedersen and his team "for their untiring effort to mediate between the parties".
"Italy remains firmly convinced that the solution to the Syrian crisis can only be pursued through a credible and inclusive political process along the path outlined by Security Council Resolution 2254," the statement concluded.
There is no time limit for the talks and initial face-to-face discussions are expected to start on Thursday, after which a 45-strong body - 15 from each bloc - will start work on drafting a new constitution that should lead to UN-supervised elections.
Decisions will be taken by consensus where possible, and otherwise by a majority of 75%, so that no one bloc can dictate the outcomes.
Resolution 2254, adopted in 2015, endorsed a road map for a peace process in Syria to end the eight-year-old civil war that would establish "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance".
