Syrian opposition rules out indirect talks before goodwill steps

The first U.N.-brokered meeting among Syrian parties will be “proximity talks” in which representatives of the government and opposition gather separately, Kerry said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Kerry called Lavrov to discuss the talks following a face-to-face meeting on Wednesday, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement, with both men backing efforts to get them started “next week”.

The intra-Syrian talks also come against the backdrop of a string of recent battlefield victories by the government that have bolstered President Bashar Assad’s hand and plunged the rebels into disarray, raising the prospect that the Geneva talks could become moot as the situation on the ground evolves.

Barack Obama, David Cameron and allies have repeatedly said that the leader, who stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the five-year Syrian civil war, has no future and refused to co-operate with regime forces.

The Geneva talks, which were to begin Monday but will likely be delayed, are part of a United Nations plan that envisions an 18-month timetable for a political transition.

Last month in Riyadh, Saudi officials gathered more than 100 members of key opposition groups, including some of the main armed factions, to fashion a negotiating delegation.

Russian Federation is adamantly against any preconditions for holding the peace talks – like some goodwill overtures by Damascus to facilitate the holding of negotiations – so under such circumstances, it is hard to see any value in holding the Geneva peace talks. “There must be a halt to the bombardment of civilians by Russian planes, and sieges of blockaded areas must be lifted”, George Sabra told Reuters via phone.

The U.S.is leading a coalition to fight Islamic State, which has seized territory in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

The group, which is known as the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), announced Thursday that a member of a Saudi-backed Islamist group, Jaish al-Islam, would serve as the chief negotiator. The last day to start the talks was Friday, Jan. 29, the diplomat said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven children and one woman were among the dead in the village of Khasham in Syria’s oil-rich Deir Ezzor province.

Russian Federation and Iran have rejected that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are to form the opposition delegation.

With the capture of Rabia, government troops are closing in on rebel supply routes through the Turkish border to the north, he added. Part of the discussions are about which groups are deemed “terrorist” organisations or supporters.