United Nation’s envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi arrives in Damascus on Thursday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials of the war-torn country.

On Thursday night, he will meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and on Friday Brahimi is set for talks with Assad. The UN envoy said earlier that while he is in the capital of the country he also plans to meet with representatives of the Syrian civil society and intelligentsia.

During the visit, the 78-year-old diplomat is escorted by a delegation of 40 people, including military advisors, human rights specialists and representatives of humanitarian organizations.

Brahimi replaced Kofi Annan, a former UN Secretary General, who introduced in February a peace plan for Syria that was endorsed by Russia, but ignored by both the Syrian government and the opposition.

Since it began with demonstrations against Assad’s regime in March 2011, the Syrian conflict has escalated into a full-scale civil war that has claimed up to 20,000 lives, according to estimates by various Syrian opposition groups.