Russian Diplomat Doubts Syrian “opposition” Ready for Geneva Talks

MOSCOW- The Syrian opposition’s readiness to reach agreements at the Geneva talks is questionable, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, according to Itar Tass.

“We regret to say that after the first two days of the intra-Syrian talks, the Syrian opposition’s readiness to reach agreements at the Geneva talks is still questionable,” she said. “The so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC), based in Riyadh, has been refusing from communicating with the Moscow and the Cairo opposition groups on equal footing. In fact, it has been disrupting a full-fledged dialogue with other opposition groups as well as with the Syrian government delegation.”

 According to Zakharova, Russia plans to further employ the “Astana process” which was “initially aimed at supporting the Geneva talks” and has proved successful as “specific results were reached.”

“We are ready to welcome new participants, including members of the Syrian opposition, particularly the armed opposition, who have influence on those active ‘on the ground’ and who are willing to contribute to settling the crisis in Syria,” the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman stressed.