Kerry, Syrian Opposition Discuss Upcoming Intra-Syrian Talks

A senior Syrian opposition official on Friday ruled out even indirect peace talks with the government before a halt to Russian air strikes and the lifting of government blockades on populated areas.

Sieda said US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair as well as Hijab during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss the talks, adding that any changes of the names in the delegation will be up to the opposition.

“We hold the Assad regime and its Russian ally responsible for any failure of the political process due to their continued war crimes” including sieges and bombardment of civilian areas, a joint statement from dozens of rebel factions said.

The mainstream opposition, which last week formed a negotiating team including members of key political and military groups, has previously said it will not accept the participation of any “third party” in the talks.

Still, officials from the United States and Russian Federation – two principal backers of the Geneva talks – have said they are optimistic that the negotiations will take place.

He added that the PYD has not been invited to the talks.

Also Sunday, the government newspaper, Tishrin, said in an editorial that the Geneva talks should only bring in negotiators with genuine plans for rebuilding Syria, and not “representatives for the agendas terrorist-supporting countries that seek a seat for terrorism at the dialogue table”.

Backed by multiple Shi’ite militias and with Russian air support, the Syrian military today managed to capture the rebel-held town of Rabia, the last major rebel-held territory in Latakia Province.

Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross who is based in Damascus, said in an interview with the Washington Post that the humanitarian situation in Syria is deteriorating. While maintaining that Assad can not be part of the long-term future, the US and others have dropped demands for his immediate removal and have agreed that the negotiations should decide his fate.

“Putting someone from the Army of Islam as a chief negotiator, means that they want to impose an Islamic state”.

The suspected Russian airstrikes Saturday hit eastern Syria, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that nine children were killed in Khasham, an area controlled by the Islamic State group.

Syria’s multi-sided civil war has killed some 250,000 people since 2011 and driven more than 11 million from their homes, according to estimates published by the United Nations.