A source close to the opposition delegation said that on Sunday afternoon they have met the UN Special Envoy “informally” and are now still waiting for further meeting with the UN representative.
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“It is an historic occasion not to be missed”, Mistura said, as he left a Geneva hotel after meeting with the opposition.
“This is not our condition”. “It’s the duty of the responsibility of members of the (U.N.) Security Council to put the pressure on Russian Federation to stop these crimes in Syria”, he said.
The opposition platform is called the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) and is referred by the USA and Saudi media as “the most important opposition alliance”.
Highlighting the dire humanitarian situation, Doctors Without Borders on Saturday said 16 more people had starved to death in Madaya, one of more than a dozen towns under blockade by regime or rebel forces. World powers backing the Geneva negotiations are seeking a political process to resolve the Syrian conflict, estimated to have killed more than 250,000 people and driven more than 11 million from their homes since 2011, according to the United Nations.
Resolution 2254 is a road map for a peace process in Syria that sets timetables for negotiations and outlines a nationwide cease-fire to begin as soon as initial steps toward a political transition are made.
At least 71 people are now known to have been killed in two explosions south of the Syrian capital Damascus, observers say.
If the talks can begin in earnest the United Nations hopes that within six months they could lead to a ceasefire, an interim government and finally elections.
Hijab was not among the group that arrived in Geneva and his comments came after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Riyadh, where Hijab was quoted as expressing his concern about the intensifying aerial bombing on Syrian cities and refugee camps.
“The first immediate objective is to make sure the talks continue and that everyone is on board”, de Mistura said.
Mr. Allouche is indeed politburo member of the rebel armed group Jaich al-Islam, an inspirational Salafist movement that Damascus regime describes as “terrorist”.
The deadly attack, claimed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, occurred at a revered Shi’ite shrine. “This is a sign that they are not serious”, Jaafari said.
Meanwhile, the chief negotiator of the Assad regime’s delegation at Geneva, Bashar al-Jaafari, said the Sayyida Zaynab attack was proof that the opposition had links with terrorist groups.
The office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria on Sunday announced that the UN representative will separately meet with the Syrian government and opposition delegations on Monday, thus continuing the just started intra-Syrian talks.
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While the top U.S. diplomat aimed his remarks at both sides, his message was clearly directed at the opposition, which has threatened to leave Geneva even before talks start.
