Syria peace talks to begin in Russia's Sochi Delegates arrive in Russia for peace talks aimed at ending the Syrian conflict, but hopes of progress are dimmed after the main opposition group and the Kurds said they would boycott the event. Regime-backer Moscow has invited 1,600 people to the talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as part of a broader push to consolidate its influence in the Middle East and start hammering out a path to a political solution to end the seven-year war. IMAGES.