What We Know: A shaky start to peace talks on Syrian war

“The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) chose to participate in the Geneva talks after receiving American and United Nations guarantees”, said UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura. “I have good reasons to believe that they are actually considering that very seriously”.

“The government delegation, headed by (Syria’s United Nations ambassador) Bashar al-Jaafari, has arrived to the Geneva airport”, the source said.

“We told Mr.de Mistura that these principles are above the negotiation, that they are final (and) can not be discussed or compromised”, HNC’s leader Riyad Hijab said. It would wait until its conditions are met, it added, and only then would it negotiate.

Indirect peace talks aimed at resolving Syria’s five-year conflict have begun at the U.N, headquarters in Geneva, without the participation of the main opposition group.

The group had also asked for “clarifications” after the United Nations invited other opposition figures who are thought to have closer ties to Moscow and limited influence on the ground.

It has also forced millions of Syrians from their homes, many of them into neighbouring states and further afield, causing a major political headache for the European Union which received more than 1 million migrants in 2015.

Meanwhile, Syrian forces continued to make gains on the battlefield against Isis and other insurgents.

De Mistura said he expected to meet the HNC’s delegation on Sunday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has voiced pessimism over the prospects for peace in Syria, ahead of talks set to open in Geneva on Friday.

The largest opposition coalition had said they wouldn’t attend, as they were more concerned with fending off a renewed government military offensive, including increased airstrikes by Russian Federation.

“We are pressuring the opposition to prove that they are united, coherent, that they have a strong leadership and that they have a vision, and a policy and a certain consensus on what the future will be”, Shehadi said.

The opposition is facing ongoing disputes over which parties will attend and has come under criticism for including the militant Army of Islam group that controls wide areas near Damascus and is considered a terrorist organization by the Syrian government and Russian Federation.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Saturday he was relieved that some peace talks had begun.

The talks are part of a UN-backed plan, agreed by top diplomats past year in Vienna, that envisages negotiations followed by a transitional government, a new constitution and elections within 18 months.

The HNC have also been under pressure by mainstream armed groups represented within it not to give in to Western pressure perceived as a sellout, with some rebel groups already threatening to pull out of the body. De Mistura’s office was not immediately available to comment.

Earlier, the HNC said it was seeking an end to the bombing of civilians and assurances that aid would reach civilians in besieged towns, before attending in Geneva. The boycott defies Washington, which has urged the opposition to take up the “historic opportunity” for the talks, without preconditions.