The talks between the Nepali government and the guerrillas got underway on Friday in Kathmandu, with both the sides exuding optimism for the success of the talks.

The talks started at around 4:00 p.m. local time (1015 GMT) at Forest Resort at Gokorna of suburb Kathmandu city.

"There is little chance of failure of these talks and our agenda, of course, is the election to constituent assembly," Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the guerrillas' talks team leader, told reporters before the meeting.

The team leader of Nepali government side and Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula sounded an optimist note, too.

"Since our agenda is the same, there is no reason why the talks should fail," Sitaula said.

Source: Xinhua