GENEVA (AP) The main Syrian opposition delegation vowed Saturday not to participate in U.N.-sponsored peace talks with the government unless their demands are met, including lifting the siege imposed on rebel-held areas and an end to Russian and Syrian bombardment of regions controlled by opposition fighters.
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At least 47 people, a lot of them civilians, were killed on Sunday in a twin attack in a mainly Shi’ite area in the Syrian capital Damascus, a monitoring group reported.
Regime representatives responded by accusing the government’s opponents of being…
The Syrian peace talks, should the all the parties agree to engage, are part of an ambitious roadmap agreed by top diplomats in Vienna a year ago, that envisages negotiations followed by a transitional government, a new constitution and elections within 18 months.
Jaafari said that he “will not accept any preconditions” and that there is still no agreement on the composition of the opposition delegation.
The United Nations is aiming for six months of negotiations, first seeking a ceasefire, later working towards a political settlement to the civil war that has also killed over 250,000 people, driven more than 10 million from their homes and drawn in global powers.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was quoted by Russian Interfax news agency as saying that Moscow welcomed the decision by Syrian opposition coordinator, Riad Hijab, to take part in talks in Geneva.
High Negotiations Committee (HNC) spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha of Syria’s main opposition body (R back) briefs the press upon his arrival on January 30, 2016 in Geneva for peace talks.
The attacks were claimed by militants from the Islamic State group, and Syria’s delegate to the U.N.-sponsored peace talks said the violence confirmed the connection between “terrorism” and “some political groups” – a reference to those who oppose President Bashar Assad.
The group got held up for several hours at the Geneva airport because many of them had not been issued visas for Switzerland, despite the fact that world leaders, including Secretary of State John F. Kerry, had been telephoning them throughout the week to beg them to show up, according to diplomats involved in efforts to secure their entry to the country.
At this stage it is not known if opposition leaders will be present for the talks today or whether they’ll go ahead without them.
“We are keen to make this negotiation a success”, opposition spokesman Salim al-Muslat told reporters as the delegation arrived from Riyadh, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether they would come and the talks would happen.
This will involve de Mistura shuttling between the government delegation and two opposition factions.
Ahrar al-Sham and the Army of Islam, two Islamic groups fighting to overthrow Assad, agreed to take part in the Geneva talks. Turkey, which has struggled with its own large Kurdish population, considers the PYD a terrorist organization and the HNC claims they are too close to the Syrian government.
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In a controversial move, the alliance has named Mohammed Alloush, member of the Army of Islam rebel group, as its chief negotiator, but sources hinted he was not among those travelling to Geneva.
