PHOTO: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after their meeting on Wednesday (Jacquelyn Martin)

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    UPDATE 1700 GMT: Turkey has objected to the inclusion of the most prominent Syrian Kurdish party in the “peace talks”.

    Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Russia was trying to sabotage the Syrian opposition with the presence of the Democratic Union Party (PYD):

    As Turkey, we do not recognize any [group] other than the Syria national coalition as the opposition. If others want to be at the table, then they can be on the side of the regime.

    Davutoğlu supported the opposition-rebel bloc’s selection of its representatives, adding that no one had the right to impose delegates upon them.

    US Secretary of State John Kerry continued to insist that any postponement in the talks, planned for January 25 in Geneva, would be brief.

    “When you say a delay, it may be a day or two for invitations but there is not going to be a fundamental delay,” Kerry told reporters before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    “The process will begin on the 25th and they will get together and see where we are,” he declared.

    However, a spokeswoman UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said, “It is likely the 25th may slip by a few days for practical reasons.”

    And Mohammad Alloush, a lead negotiator for the opposition-rebel bloc restated that the talks will not occur if the Assad regime does not halt attacks on civilians and end sieges: “The session will not take place until the measures are implemented….While no measures are taken, the chances are zero.”

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov responded, “[The opposition] will bear the historic responsibility for the failure of the talks, because there should be no preconditions for the start of negotiations.”

    Meanwhile, the Assad regime said UN envoy Bashar al-Jaafari will be its chief negotiator in a delegation overseen by Deputy Foreign Minister Feisal al-Mikdad.

    ORIGINAL ENTRY: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made no apparent advance towards Syrian “peace talks” during their meeting in Zurich on Wednesday.

    The UN, US, Russia, and European and Arab countries have proposed the start of opposition-regime negotiations at a conference in Geneva on January 25. However, the prospect of the talks has always been dimmed by President Assad’s declaration of a total defeat of “terrorism” before discussions; the opposition-rebel bloc’s preconditions for negotiations; and Russian refusal to accept the opposition-rebel negotiating team.

    Lavrov admitted that meetings were unlikely to be held next Monday:

    The political process will begin, we hope, as soon as possible, at the end of January.

    We don’t know the actual date yet, but we are going to go forward and support the recommendations, particularly the ones made by Mr Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria.

    “The UN Security Council is obliged to make sure that this meeting of all the Syrian actors and players takes place soon and we hope very much that it will be in this month.

    He reiterated Moscow’s refusal of opposition-rebel negotiators after Wednesday’s meeting, insisting that leading rebel factions such as Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham must be labelled as “terrorists” and excluded.

    In a pointed riposte to Russia, the opposition-rebel team named Mohammad Alloush, a leading member of Jaish al-Islam, among its representatives for the Geneva meeting. The group will be headed by Asaad al-Zoubi, a former Syrian Army colonel who defected and now commands rebels in southern Syria.

    The Russian Foreign Minister said, “We have provided our proposal, the US did the same, and now the members of the Syria opposition groups also provided their proposal.”

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov was more forthcoming, “Not all goes smoothly. Tough disagreements persist on who should be included in the ‘white’ and ‘black’ lists.”

    Moscow has rejected the 33-member opposition-rebel team established last month. It has proposed an alternative list of 15 names with domestic figures such as Qadri Jamil, a former member of President Assad’s Cabinet who has ties to Russia; Haitham Manna, the head of the recently-formed Syrian Democratic Council; and representatives of Kurdish groups.

    The opposition and rebels excluded Kurdish factions such as the PYD and its YPG militias from the talks in December, insisting on formation of their bloc before discussions with the Kurds, who have established a de facto autonomous area in northern Syria.

    The State Department merely said on Wednesday that Kerry and Lavrov “discussed plans for the UN-led negotiations between the Syrian parties on January 25 and the importance of maintaining progress toward a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria”.

    It also said Kerry pressed Russia to “use its influence with the Assad regime to ensure immediate, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all Syrians in need, especially those in besieged areas such as Madaya”, the town in Damascus Province where an estimated 60 people have died from starvation because of the Syrian military’s siege.

    Russian Foreign Ministry on Bombing That Killed Almost 1,500 Civilians: “Stop Being Ridiculous and Use Our Facts”

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has dismissed claims by US officials of Moscow’s indiscriminate airstrikes inside Syria.

    “Stop being ridiculous and use facts that Russia provides on a daily basis,” Zakharova said.

    Since it began bombing on September 30, Russia has killed almost 1,500 civilians, according to records compiled by the Violations Documentation Center. Moscow’s warplanes have hit mosques, markets, schools, hospitals, bakeries, and a water treatement plant, mainly in opposition-held areas.

    UN: Islamic State Advances in Deir ez-Zor City

    The UN’s relief agency reports advances by the Islamic State in its fight against regime forces in Deir ez-Zor city in northeastern Syria.

    The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said ISIS have captured the Ayyash weapons depot and have partial control of the Ayyash and al-Bughayliyah districts in the northwest of the city. The Islamic State has also taken parts of the Brigade 137 base after three attacks with vehicle-borne bombs. Fierce clashes are also reported near the Deir ez-Zor airbase.

    The city has long been divided, with regime forces limited to neighborhoods in the west, the airport east of the city, and military bases to the south. ISIS has besieged the areas and launched an offensive on January 16.

    3 More Madaya Residents Die of Starvation from Regime Siege

    The deaths of three more residents of Madaya, the town in Damascus Province besieged since July by the Syrian military, were confirmed on Wednesday.

    Teenager Hassan Alaeddin, one of only four people allowed out of Madaya by the Assad regime, died in Damascus.

    The UN said last week, as an aid convoy reached the town, that 400 people needed evacuation for medical treatment; however, it later said specialists could provide the care in Madaya. Medical charity Medicines Sans Frontiers warned that 18 patients were at immediate risk of death.

    Inside Madaya, a 47-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man were confirmed to have died.

    An estimated 60 people have starved to death in the town since December 1.

    See Syria Daily, Jan 20: Will UN Airdrop Aid to Besieged Civilians?
    Syria Daily, Jan 16: UN Condemns Sieges and Starvation — But Takes No Action