Syria opposition to attend Geneva peace talks

[WhiteTara]

Source: Reuters

Syria's main opposition group said it would attend peace talks on Monday but accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of preparing to escalate the war to strengthen its negotiating position.

The U.N.-brokered talks, which coincide with the fifth anniversary of the conflict, will take place in Geneva two weeks after the start of a ceasefire agreement.

The truce deal has reduced violence although not halted the fighting, with further hostilities reported in western Syria on Friday.

The High Negotiations Committee said it would attend the peace talks as part of its "commitment to international efforts to stop the spilling of Syrian blood and find a political solution".

But in its statement on Friday it played down any chance of reaching agreement with the Syrian government to end the war that has killed more than 250,000 people and led to a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0WD1WR

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Here's hoping the Syrian people are given a break from the terrible violence that engulfs them

[Eugene]

1. Syrian government calls Bashar al-Assad a 'red line' in peace talks

Source: The Guardian and agencies

Syrian government calls Bashar al-Assad a 'red line' in peace talks

Foreign minister says opposition must ‘abandon delusions’
of a Syria without Assad as president or talks will fail

Nicola Slawson and agencies
Saturday 12 March 2016 13.48 GMT

The Syrian government has said that peace talks will fail if any party tries to discuss the presidency in a transition government, calling the incumbent president, Bashar al-Assad, a “red line”.

The comments made by Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Muallem, at a Saturday press conference before the UN-led the talks on Monday have put “the nails in the coffin” of the peace process before it even starts, the opposition said.

A delegation from the Syrian government is heading to Geneva on Sunday, but will not stay for more than 24 hours if the opposition does not show up.

“We will not talk to anyone who talks about the position of the presidency. Bashar (al-Assad) is a red line; the property of the Syrian people,” Muallem said during the televised news conference in Damascus. “I advise them that if this is (the opposition’s) thinking, they shouldn’t come to the talks. They must abandon these delusions.”

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/12/syrian-government-calls-bashar-al-assad-a-red-line-in-peace-talks