Geneva : Peace talks to end the war in Syria intensified Wednesday with the inclusion of a pro-Russian opposition group, as the UN widened efforts to find a political solution to the five-year conflict.
The entry into the Geneva talks of the so-called Moscow Group followed Russia's surprise decision to withdraw most of its forces from Syria, where they had been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
Western governments voiced hopes the move -- which continued Wednesday as more Russian planes pulled out of their air base in Syria -- could boost the talks by pressuring Assad.
In another sign of the conflict changing on the ground, military analysts IHS Jane's said the Islamic State (IS) group has lost 22 percent of the territory it held in both Syria and Iraq at the start of 2015.
Russia has said its five-month bombing campaign in Syria had helped push back the jihadists and analysts say it has allowed Assad's forces to gain ground and cement their hold on key parts of the country.
The pro-Moscow faction set to join the peace talks is tolerated by Damascus and has not insisted on Assad's departure as a condition for creating a transitional government, which is an unequivocal demand of the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
It was not immediately clear what impact the inclusion of the pro-Moscow group would have, or whether it was a gesture from UN mediator Staffan de Mistura to Russia following the pullout.
De Mistura has said Russia's action could have a "positive" impact on efforts to end the five-year conflict and that Moscow's announcement on the day negotiations opened was "not a coincidence".
After multiple failed peace efforts, de Mistura has said he sees added "momentum" in the current round of dialogue, which comes as a ceasefire imposed on February 27 remains broadly in place.
His tentative optimism was backed by US Secretary of State John Kerry who heads to Moscow next week to discuss the peace drive.
"We may face the best opportunity that we've had in years to end (the war)," Kerry said Tuesday.
The conflict has killed more than 270,000 people and send millions fleeing, many seeking new lives in Europe where the influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia has created a huge headache for the EU.
