Syrian opposition blames regime, accuses Assad of refusal to reach solution
by Daily Sabah with Wires
ISTANBULFeb 03, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah with Wires
Feb 03, 2016 12:00 am
Senior Syrian opposition negotiator Mohamed Alloush, representing a main opposition group Army of Islam, said on Tuesday that he is not optimistic about prospective peace talks in Geneva.
"Nothing has changed in the situation on the ground, so as long as the situation is like this we are not optimistic," he told reporters before a government delegation arrived at U.N. headquarters in Geneva to meet with the U.N.'s special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to discuss a proposal on humanitarian issues.
He said: "There are no good intentions from the regime's side to reach a solution."
All efforts to stop the perpetration of humanitarian crimes and satisfy the demands of the opposition Higher Negotiation Committee (HNC) have failed so far, in the talks.
De Mistura declared on Monday that indirect negotiations between the regime and the HNC to seek a resolution had finally begun in Geneva.
But the HNC remains skeptical, insisting that the regime has allowed humanitarian access to besieged towns, stopped the bombing of civilian areas and released prisoners.
In an apparent gesture of goodwill, the Syrian government on Monday agreed "in principle" to allow aid into three besieged towns, the U.N. said. One of them is Madaya, where 46 people have died of starvation since December. However, later on Tuesday, the Syrian government delegation head and ambassador to the U.N., Bashar al-Jaafari, said that "There should be no pre-conditions to begin indirect talks."
"The regime will, without a doubt, give some small signs," HNC spokesman Munzer Makhous told Agence France-Presse (AFP), saying the Madaya announcement was "designed to distract the international community's attention."
After his first official meeting with the HNC on Monday, de Mistura said there was a "very strong point" to its demands, saying that the Syrian people "deserve to hear and see the facts [about activity] on the ground."
Yet the chance to find a solution to end the civil war, which has killed more than 260,000 people and displacing more than half of Syria's population, is still at stake as the regime forces continue launching attacks near Aleppo and other areas.
The Russia-backed regime forces made further advances on Tuesday in a major offensive that could cut the supply line to insurgent between the northwestern city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It is the first major offensive north of Aleppo since Russia began its air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sept. 30. The city is currently split into areas held by the regime and the opposition.
Damascus and its allies have pressed on with a number of offensives launched in western Syria even as the United Nations tries to advance peace talks in Geneva, recently seizing important towns in the northwest and southwest.
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