Syria's warring parties are due to begin formal peace talks in Geneva, for the first time since the conflict began three years ago.
The government and rebel delegations will be in separate rooms and conduct negotiations through a UN mediator.
There are still entrenched divisions - with the government wanting to focus on terrorism, and the opposition on how to remove President Bashar al-Assad.
Diplomats say a main concern will be ensuring neither side walks out.
Syria's civil conflict has claimed well over 100,000 lives, the UN says.
The violence has also driven 9.5 million people from their homes, creating a major humanitarian crisis within Syria and for its neighbours.
Unprecedented talks"Start Quote
End QuoteIn Montreux, a small but significant symbolic step was taken. A taboo was broken - bitter rivals sat in the same room. Will the mood be better, or worse, once the world's television cameras are no longer in the room? "
This is the third day of the conference, but the first in which negotiations get under way in earnest, after UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi shuttled between the two sides on Thursday assessing their willingness to meet.
The opening meeting on Wednesday in the Swiss resort of Montreux saw acrimonious exchanges.
The Geneva talks are unprecedented, as the two sides have never before agreed to hold formal discussions.
The talks are ostensibly about the implementation of the Geneva I communique, which was agreed at a previous summit in 2012 and calls for a transitional government in Syria with full executive powers.
But the views of the government and the opposition are so diametrically opposed that Friday's discussions may get no further than preliminary attempts to set a common agenda, the BBC's Bridget Kendall in Geneva reports.
And even that may prove difficult: The government is expected to insist on the importance of fighting what it sees as terrorism, while the opposition wants a high priority to be put on the removal of Mr Assad.
One small encouraging sign for Friday's talks is that both sides will be in the same room for the opening session, our correspondent adds.
However, they are not expected to talk to each other - and after being addressed jointly by Mr Brahimi, they will go to separate rooms to work out their initial positions.
But analysts are hopeful that some progress can be made.
While the two sides are diametrically opposed on many issues, they have both indicated a willingness to talk about concrete steps like local ceasefires, prisoner exchanges and establishing safe corridors for the delivery of badly-needed humanitarian aid.
Assad's roleOne of the main sticking points between the government and the rebels is the role of Bashar al-Assad.
Geneva Communique
A UN-backed meeting in 2012 issued the document and urged Syria to:
- Form transitional governing body
- Start national dialogue
- Review constitution and legal system
- Hold free and fair elections
The opposition demands his removal from office as a condition for peace.
It is supported in this by many key foreign observers: The US Secretary of State John Kerry has called Mr Assad "a one-man super-magnet for terrorism".
But Syrian officials have flatly rejected any suggestion of Mr Assad stepping down, and he has even suggested he will run for president again in elections due this year.
The Syrian government also has its supporters: Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has told the BBC that nobody other than Mr Assad can run Syria at the moment.
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