Discord continues between Syrian gov’t and opposition

“Naturally after five years of this most gruesome spectacle of seeing the Syrian public subjected to public executions we hope and pray that the talks being mediated by (UN Syria envoy) Staffan de Mistura will lead to the end of all of these horrific abuses, human rights abuses, violations of worldwide humanitarian law”, he said.

Russia’s push drew criticism from the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), the leading Syrian opposition coalition formed after talks in Riyadh last month, which said it wouldn’t let outsiders decide its line up, and had named Mohamed Alloush, a member of Jaish al-Islam, as one of its negotiators.

The Syrian envoy also said presenting demands as a preconditions for negotiations is unacceptable.

United Nations spokeswoman Khawla Mattar also confirmed that there would be “no other meetings today” in Geneva with de Mistura.

The HNC didn’t come for a later meeting scheduled with de Mistura because of an escalation of attacks by Russian and government forces, a representative said on condition of anonymity.

There was no public word Monday from the Syrian government delegation, which has already criticized the opposition bloc for arriving late and for making demands before formal talks began.

Staffan de Mistura declared yesterday that indirect negotiations between Assad’s government and the main opposition umbrella group to seek an end to Syria’s brutal civil war, had finally begun in Geneva.

The meeting coincided with a sharp spike in violence on the ground in Syria, particularly in the rebel-held besieged town of Moadamiyeh southwest of Damascus, where opposition activists reported dozens of helicopter-dropped barrel bombs in the past few days.

De Mistura said a ceasefire is an important goal, but his immediate objectives are to keep the talks going and to get a list of Syrians being detained by the government. “We are waiting for a statement from them condemning this terrorist attack”, Jaafari said. Another thorny issue is which rebel groups will be involved in the talks, although all sides agree on the exclusion of IS and Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch.

“We are here, we are ready to make this a success, we are ready to start negotiations”, High Negotiations Committee spokesman Salim al-Muslat said before the meeting.

In November, world powers agreed in Vienna on an ambitious roadmap that foresees the six months of intra-Syrian talks leading to a new constitution and free elections within 18 months.

But the Saudi-backed HNC is refusing to play ball unless Assad’s regime first allows humanitarian access to besieged towns, stops bombarding civilians and releases prisoners.

He said more than 15 government fighters and 20 rebels had been killed in the fighting since Monday.

Gareth Bayley, the British special envoy for Syria, took aim at Moscow’s tactics, tweeting: “Reports of further intense Russian strikes in Syria on moderate opposition in Aleppo and Homs”.

Al-Hussein added that the United Nations has a principled position that “no amnesties should be considered” for those suspected of having committed crimes against humanity or war crimes.