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| Syria’s main opposition group said Wednesday that terrorism can’t be
added to the agenda of sputtering UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.
(AFP) |
Syria’s main opposition group said Wednesday that terrorism can’t be
added to the agenda of sputtering UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva, as
sought by Damascus.
The High Negotiating
Committee (HNC) announced the refusal after an unprecedented meeting
with a Russian minister, whose country is a key ally of President Bashar
al-Assad.
“We will not deal with it, and
if (UN mediator Staffan de Mistura) adds it in any time we will not deal
with it or discuss it,” HNC delegation chief Yehya Kodmani told
reporters.
The issue has overshadowed the
Geneva talks, in particular after a suicide assault in Syria’s
third-largest city of Homs last weekend which killed dozens of people.
On
Tuesday, Russia called for terrorism to be added to the agenda of the
talks, which have until now focussed on three “baskets,” or areas for
discussion: governance, constitution and elections.
According
to Syria’s SANA news agency, citing sources close to the regime, UN
envoy de Mistura has agreed that the talks broach four areas: the three
previously agreed plus terrorism.
The
veteran UN mediator, arriving at the same Geneva hotel as Kodmani a
short time later, declined to comment, saying he would speak at the end
of the current round of talks.
Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov was cautious after Wednesday’s meeting with the HNC delegation.
“This
was a sound meeting, constructive discussion about the Syrian
negotiation round. There is a common understanding that we must move
toward political regulation of the Syrian crisis,” he said, quoted by
the RIA-Novosti news agency.
“What is new
about these Geneva talks is that the sides agreed with the suggestion of
de Mistura to discuss all issues in a parallel mode, so that there are
several tracks.”
He added: “Of course we
would like to see direct talks between (the) Syrian government
delegation and a united opposition delegation, but we must admit that
this is not attainable right now.
The
Syrian regime’s chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari demanded at the
weekend that all factions at the Geneva talks condemn the Homs attack or
be deemed “accomplices of terrorism.”
UN
Syria envoy de Mistura launched the latest round of talks last Thursday,
but as in previous sessions there appears little prospect of the two
sides’ meeting face-to-face.
The opposition says political transition -- specifically the fate of President Assad -- should be added to the discussions.
The
Geneva talks, the fourth round of UN-sponsored talks in the six-year
conflict which has killed over 310,000 people, are expected to end
before or during the coming weekend, though no formal time frame has
been set.
Source: Al arabiya
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