RT: Syria Peace Talks In Geneva Sun, January 31, 2016

All delegations taking part in the Syrian peace talks have arrived in Geneva and are beginning separate consultations with the UN envoy and diplomats representing other countries interested in a quick settlement of the Syrian crisis. No joint talks have been planned for Sunday so far.

31 January 2016
RT

The terrorist attack in Damascus that killed dozens near a Shiite shrine was aimed at disrupting Syrian peace talks in Geneva, the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

“The attack near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine is clearly aimed to disrupt the attempts to start a political process,” she said.
16:47 GMT

The full list of the members from the opposition delegation remains unclear for Damascus as well as for the UN, the head of Syria’s delegation at peace talks, Bashar al-Jaafari, told reporters.

He also criticized the opposition for a lack of “seriousness and responsibility” referring to the delegation’s delayed attendance at Geneva, as well as setting preconditions to the talks.
16:47 GMT

Bashar al-Jaafari branded some of the opposition delegation terrorists backed by foreign powers, adding that the negations started with repeating the same mistake that occurred in Geneva-2 in 2014.

“When the Security Council resolution states that the broadest possible spectrum of the position be brought together by the Syrians themselves, and this resolution is being violated, then it means that there are some who want to impose a fait accompli by selectivity and double standards,” he said.
16:46 GMT

Damascus considers it to be “very important” to discuss the topics of humanitarian corridors, ceasefires and prisoner releases in Geneva, according to Bashar al-Jaafari, the head of Syria’s delegation at the peace talks.
16:46 GMT

The Syrian opposition is free to leave peace talks if their terms are not met, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Riyadh.

“We asked the opposition that they can put their conditions to start the negotiations and continue the negotiations. They can leave anytime if they are not implemented,” he said.
16:46 GMT

15:41 GMT

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged the various sides to negotiate a political solution to the Syrian crisis as it would undercut support for Islamic State militants (IS, previously ISIS,ISIL).

“In the end, there is no military solution to the conflict,” Kerry said in a statement. He added that the conflict could engulf the whole Middle East if no political settlement was reached.

He also said that urgent steps to increase food aid and other humanitarian assistance must be taken.
13:39 GMT

If the Syrian government and its allies “continue to escalate the bombing campaign” in rebel-held areas and “hamper delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged areas,” the delegation of the Saudi-backed opposition may walk out, Riyad Hijab, coordinator of the Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) of the Syrian opposition, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Without putting an end to these “violations,” there would be “no justification” for the main opposition delegation to remain in Geneva, Hijab said.
13:25 GMT

Sunday’s bomb attacks in Damascus, which have claimed at least 45 lives, serve to prove that the Syrian opposition has links to terrorism, said the head of the Syrian government delegation in Geneva, Bashar Jaafari. The diplomat holds the position of Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN.

13:16 GMT

The meeting between members of the opposition and the UN envoy to Syria focused on mostly humanitarian aid to citizens and improvement of living conditions on the ground.

“We only came to Geneva after receiving assurances and commitments and we have precise commitments on the fact there would be serious progress on the humanitarian situation,” Reuters cited Bassma Kodmani, a member of the opposition’s negotiating delegation, as saying. “We can’t start political negotiations until we have those gestures [in place],” Kodmani added.

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