DAMASCUS: A Russian initiative to bring together Syria’s warring sides later this month does not aim to launch peace talks but rather to discuss the basis of future dialogue, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in comments published Thursday.

In an interview with the Czech Literarni Noviny newspaper, he said his government does not want to miss any opportunity to end the nearly 4-year-old conflict, which has killed more than 200,000 people since an uprising against his rule began in March 2011.

The talks between the Syrian government and its opponents are scheduled to start Jan. 26 in Moscow. But prominent opposition groups have said they will not attend, and the talks have little chance of success.

Assad’s comments appeared to further lower expectations.

“We are going to Russia not to start a dialogue, but to meet these different personalities to discuss the basis of dialogue when it starts,” he said, adding that the topics would be the unity of Syria, containing terrorist organizations and fighting terrorism, and supporting the army.

“As to what I expect from this meeting, I think we should be realistic since we are dealing with personalities,” he said.

“If we succeed, it’s a good thing. If we don’t, we will not lose anything.”

Most opposition groups, including the opposition-in-exile National Coalition, have said they will not attend the Moscow talks, saying the framework for the discussions was unclear and the meetings had little chance of success.

“We believe we should go as a government in order to listen to what they [the opposition] have to say. If they have something useful ... we will go forward, and if not, we will not deal with them seriously,” Assad said.

A decision on attending the meetings in Moscow is expected Friday from the National Coordination Body, the chief “tolerated” opposition group based in Syria. A key figure whose visits to Russia kicked off the Moscow initiative, Ahmad Moaz Khatib, earlier announced his rejection of the sessions because the regime has not engaged in steps, such as releasing detainees in a sign of good faith.

Most opposition groups, both inside and outside Syria, have demanded that the “Geneva” formula, which stipulates the establishment of a transitional authority with full powers, be the basis for any talks with the regime.

The comments by Assad came as a truce was tentatively declared in Waer, the last rebel-held part of the city of Homs.

But as aid supplies entered the regime-besiegedneighborhood, government forces shelled the area, casting doubt on whether the calm would hold.

An anti-regime media activist group in Waer said artillery and sniper fire came from a neighboring loyalist village, and dampened hopes that the lull would lead to progress on talks over ending hostilities by the time the expected 10-day truce ends.

In Geneva, U.N. peace envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura vowed to press on with efforts for a truce in Aleppo, despite the “lack of trust” between the regime and rebel groups.

De Mistura announced no new breakthroughs in the negotiation process and called the humanitarian situation in the war-ravaged country “a disgrace.”

He urged the international community to ensure that the conflict did not get placed on the “back burner,” adding: “Movement toward some kind of political solution should take place this year.”

“We need to make sure that this does not become like 2014 when we heard similar appeals from all of us, including the U.N., and nothing really happened.”

He said the Syrian conflict had rendered 12 million people in need, 7.6 million displaced, 3.3 million refugees and claimed 220,000 lives.

De Mistura added that he hoped the Moscow meetings could move things forward.

“We are hoping ... that it will be a success in the sense that there will be an opportunity for a genuine dialogue between Syrian representatives but also Syrian authorities,” he said.