PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets Moscow’s preferred Syrian “opposition” in Vienna, May 2016


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Syria’s opposition-rebel bloc has warned against UN selection of delegates to political talks in Geneva on February 20.

The High Negotiations Committee was responding to a statement by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura that the organization would choose the opposition’s representatives if they cannot agree on their delegation, “to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible”.

“Mr. de Mistura’s talk of his intentions to form the opposition delegation himself is unacceptable,” HNC spokesman Salim al-Muslit said. “Would de Mistura be able to intervene in forming the regime’s delegation?”

HNC chief coordinator Riad Hijab emphasized through Twitter, “Selecting the Syrian opposition delegation is not de Mistura’s business.”

Rebels echoed the objection that no “outsiders” can choose representatives, adding that it will not accept invitations to negotiations which did not lead to “transition of power to a transitional governing body”.

Russia’s Pursuit of an “Alternative Opposition”

The opposition-rebel objections are likely to have been based on fear that Russia is trying to designate an alternative “opposition” for the discussions.

Days after the first stage of renewed negotiations last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosted a group of Syrian politicians whom Moscow sees as acceptable, such as former Syrian National Coalition member Randa Kassis and former regime Cabinet member Qadri Jamil.

The session with the alternative “opposition” came as Russia said Geneva discussions were delayed from February 8 until later in the month.

The opposition-rebel bloc said that it turned down an invitation to the Moscow meeting.

Russia has pursued the alternative “opposition”-regime dialogue since 2014, hosting a session in January 2015 between a Damascus delegation, Moscow’s preferred politicians, and representatives of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD). Further talks have been held, including in Vienna in May 2016.

However, the Russian-Turkish initiative since summer 2016 for de facto partition of northern Syria and a nominal ceasefire returned to talks between the regime and the opposition-rebel bloc, long backed by Ankara. That process culminated in the discussions in the Kazakhstan capital in Astana last month; however, these quickly dissolved into acrimony with the Assad regime labelling the opposition-rebel group “terrorist” and refusing any halt to its military operations.


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Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut!

You to change the way you say “Tabiqin”. The way you said it, it was obviously in the Lebanese accent.


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