Syrian opposition groups in exile vowed Wednesday to boycott peace talks with President Bashar al-Assad's regime that his ally Russia plans to host later this month, calling them "a joke."
Moscow's proposal to hold a "Congress of Syrian National Dialogue" on November 18 was announced on Tuesday at the end of the latest round of talks on Syria held in the Kazakh capital Astana.
Those talks have run in parallel to negotiations held in Geneva with the backing of the United Nations.
The Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella organization of opposition groups in exile, "will not participate in any negotiations with the regime outside the framework of Geneva ... and without the sponsorship of the United Nations," spokesman Ahmed Ramadan said.
Russia's foreign ministry website on Tuesday listed 33 Syrian organizations invited to the planned congress in the Russian city of Sochi, including pro-regime forces and the full spectrum of opposition groups.
The proposal "is a joke in bad taste proposed by the regime in cooperation with Russia," said Yehya al-Aridi, a spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee, which represents key opposition groups at the Geneva talks.