Syria has been devastated by six years of civil war      Photo: AFP

Syria's government met the UN on Wednesday for talks on ending the civil war after threatening to skip the negotiations over the opposition's call for President Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

The government had initially refused to confirm it would attend the United Nations-brokered peace talks, which began on Tuesday, after the rebels signaled they would maintain a hardline on the president's removal from office.

But a government delegation met Wednesday with UN mediator Staffan de Mistura -- first at a luxury Geneva hotel and later at the UN -- after reportedly securing key concessions, including keeping the Assad issue off the table.

With the help of Russian military support, the Syrian regime has made major advances against its opponents in the past two years, taking back large chunks of the country and easing the pressure to negotiate.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura met with rebel negotiators in Geneva     Photo: AFP

The talks have achieved little through seven previous rounds but there are hopes the latest bid may make progress.

De Mistura said the atmosphere in his meeting with the government was "constructive and professional". He said the talks may stretch into next week.

Government delegation chief Bashar al-Jaafari declined to speak to reporters.