The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition said on Tuesday (January 26) that they would only take part in the Geneva peace talks this week if certain humanitarian issues in the war-torn country were addressed.
The group said they would decide on Wednesday (January 27) whether they would take part in the talks, saying it welcomed an invitation to the negotiations but was seeking clarifications from the United Nations.
The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), which groups arm political opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had taken “a positive view” of the invitation received from U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura on Tuesday, spokesman Salim al-Muslat said.
“We look really positively to participate in (Geneva peace talks) but there are many things there is the (United Nations) resolution 2254, article 12 and 23 , there is something about humanitarian issues, this is, for us, more important than any political discussion,” he told Reuters in Riyadh on Tuesday.
“We are not putting any pre-conditions to go there (Geneva) but we are looking forward to see the implementation of resolution 2254. I believe it is the responsibility of the 15 members of the (UN) security council to see the result on the ground there . For us, it is important, these issues are more important than anything else,” added al-Muslat.
The HNC has repeatedly said the Syrian government and its allies must halt bombardments and lift blockades of besieged areas – steps laid down in a U.N. Security Council resolution on Dec. 18 – before it will join any talks.
They are also adamant that any team of negotiators sent to the talks must only be one selected by the HNC itself.
“The negotiation team is only the one that named by the high commission, this will be facing the regime representative. Others will be as (U.N. Syria envoy Staffan) di Mistura was – describing them as a consultant for him but not in the team of negotiation. For us it’s important that the only opposition team that goes to Geneva for negotiations is the one that was named by the high commission,” said al-Muslat.
The U.N.-backed talks bringing together representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition were originally scheduled to begin on Monday but are now set for Friday after wrangling over issues including who should attend.
al-Muslat also addressed the ongoing issue of mass immigration into Europe by Syrian refugees fleeing from the war in their own country.
More than one million migrants arrived in Europe in 2015, many of which came from Syria.
al-Muslat called on European countries to help resolve the almost five-year war in Syria, so that the migrants could return home, easing the pressure in Europe.
“More people that goes to European countries and other countries- the cause of that is we call it the occupation, the Russian occupation of Syria, the air strikes, really this drives people out of Syria. This really create problems in European countries. To say this to European people – the problem is created by the Russian not by the Syrians,” he said, naming Russian involvement in the war as the main push factor for Syrian migrants.
“Syrians they run out of (away from) death, the minute we put end to this occupation, to these air strikes, these people will go back to their country, to rebuild their country. They will not really stay there any longer, at least if they see any hope. So we ask these friends in Europe to help us get rid of this regime that brought Russia as occupation, brought Iran occupying our country and this militia to fight there.” (Reuters)