Syria regime unsure on continuing Geneva talks, says negotiator
GENEVA: Syrian government negotiators indicated Friday they might not return to continue peace talks in Geneva after a weekend break, condemning ‘provocative’ statements from the opposition about the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.
The regime’s chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari told reporters in Geneva that his team would go home to Syria and that “Damascus will decide” if they will return to the UN-backed talks on Tuesday.
His comments, slammed by the opposition as irresponsible, came a day after United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura voiced optimism about the round of peace talks that began on Tuesday and said he would extend the negotiations for an additional two weeks.
De Mistura told reporters the parties would take a break over the weekend and resume negotiations Tuesday, with the talks expected to last until Dec 15.
But after meeting with de Mistura Friday, Jaafari said there were “big problems in this round of talks,” pointing to a communique published by the opposition last month in Riyadh signalling it was maintaining its hard line on Assad’s removal.
The opposition, united in one delegation for the first time, has defied calls to give up on its demand that Assad must step down before any peace deal can be reached.
“The language was provocative, irresponsible politically speaking,” Jaafari said, warning that if the opposition delegation sticks to such language “there will be no progress.”
“Those who want to impose preconditions are unrealistic,” Jaafari said, pointing to shifting conditions on the ground where the government with Russian military support has made major advances.
“There is a political reality on the ground. We are the strong party,” he said.
The government delegation had initially refused to confirm it would attend the talks and then arrived a day late, reportedly after securing key concessions, including keeping Assad’s fate off the table.
De Mistura himself urged the opposition in September to be “realistic enough to realise they didn’t win the war”, and has urged both sides to approach the talks with “no preconditions.” — AFP