The rebels, on the other hand, are demanding the immediate ouster of President Assad, which the Syrian government is calling a “red line”.
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“We all strongly support the United Nations efforts and we look forward to the resumption of talks in Geneva on March 14”.
The talks are the first to be held in more than two years and come amid an unprecedented cessation in hostilities sponsored by Washington and Moscow and accepted by President Bashar al-Assad’s government and most of his foes.
A new round of peace talks is set to begin Monday for Syria’s warring parties.
The talks will coincide with next week’s fifth anniversary of a war that has killed more than 250,000 people, created the world’s worst refugee crisis, and allowed for the expansion of the Islamic State militant group.
“The real peace-makers here are the peace-making powers who wanted these talks – the ISSG and the Security Council members – and hopefully the Syrian sides”, de Mistura said.
Opposition negotiator Muhammad Allush – who also is the leader of a group called Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) – said in Geneva on March 12 that “the transitional period should start with the fall, or death, of Bashar al-Assad”.
(Translated)”We think that the process which is about to start in Geneva must, by all means, include Kurds if we all stand by what we say when we declare adherence to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Kerry said the Syrian minister was “clearly trying to disrupt the process… clearly trying to send a message of deterrence to others”.
For the HNC, Assad must leave power at the creation of “a transitional governance body with full executive powers”.
De Mistura said Monday that public statements by both sides show there is “much distance” between them. “A meeting with the Syrian government delegation led by [Syria’s Ambassador to the UN] Bashar Jaafari is to be held today”.
The UN’s proposed 18-month plan, which aims for a new constitution and ultimately elections, has proven particularly controversial, as has the opposition’s call for the release of thousands of political prisoners.
There have also been questions about how far any deal would be felt on Syria’s battlefields, where myriad groups have been competing for territory.
A spokesperson for the opposition reacted angrily to Muallem’s comments which he said were “halting the talks before they start”.
Another negotiator, Monzer Makhous, said Moualem was “putting the nails in the coffin of Geneva”.
An earlier round of talks collapsed early in February after the Saudi-backed opposition left the talks amid the Syrian army’s Russian-backed gains against militants on several fronts.
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In the latest violence to threaten the ceasefire, Al-Qaeda fighters and allied jihadists clashed with a rebel faction known as Division 13 overnight in northwestern Syria after storming its weapons depot, the group said.
