Lavrov, Kerry are for involvement in Syrian political process

Syrian groups opposed to President Bashar Assad are still sharply divided on who should represent them at peace talks which were scheduled to begin Monday in Geneva but now appear to be delayed.

Russian Federation is unhappy with the Saudi proposition to include a radical Islamist militia, Jaysh al Islam (Army of Islam).

Representatives from Syria’s government and opposition are set to convene in Geneva in the coming days to discuss a political transition for their country. US Secretary of State John Kerry insists the talks must go ahead next week. The PYD’S military wing has been instrumental in the fight against theIslamic State group in northern Syria.

In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution which provides for the beginning of talks between the Syrian government and opposition in January.

A senior U.S. State Department official confirmed Kerry was likely to meet Hijab to “check the tires on the way forward (on talks)… that will hopefully kick off next week”. “They clearly want to establish an Islamic state”.

The lead negotiator picked by the HNC for the hoped-for negotiations is a Jaysh al-Islam member, another potential complication facing the talks because Russian Federation says it is a terrorist group.

While IS holds most of Deir Ezzor province, the regime has clung onto parts of the provincial capital, as well as the nearby military airport.

After negotiations with US and Russian diplomats, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is expected to invite two separate opposition delegations to the negotiations in Geneva, Bloomberg reported. One opposition official said on Thursday the Kurds should attend on the government side.

Under Saturday’s compromise, Russian Federation has promised not to block the inclusion of Army of Islam in return for a separate delegation to be invited to the talks containing the opposition figures it has recommended.

Ruling Ba’ath Party assistant secretary Hilal al-Hilal said: “We are not going to give today what we did not give over the past five years”.