Lead opposition negotiator offers signals possible involvement in the Russian track, but says achieving progress in Geneva would make Sochi pointless.
The head of the Syrian opposition delegation told the AFP news agency that the new round of United Nations-led peace talks on Syria will take place in Geneva on Jan. 21.
Hariri said that the U.N. will remain the most qualified party to oversee the efforts to reach a political solution in Syria, in an implicit reference to the talks which Russia has called for on the Jan. 29 and 30 in Sochi.
Regarding the Sochi negotiations, Hariri said the opposition has not received any official invitation and is unsure of the real aim Russia is working toward with the talks.
He added that the United Nations has not yet taken a decision to take part in the Sochi conference, noting that the Syrian opposition “is not totally ruling out” attending, but it believes that achieving progress in the coming Geneva talks will render the Sochi meeting pointless.
According to Hariri, the United Nations will not participate in Sochi unless Russia’s talks support the Geneva process.
The veteran opposition figure said that he met on Monday in New York with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.
Hariri said that the U.N. will remain the most qualified party to oversee the efforts to reach a political solution in Syria, in an implicit reference to the talks which Russia has called for on the Jan. 29 and 30 in Sochi.
Regarding the Sochi negotiations, Hariri said the opposition has not received any official invitation and is unsure of the real aim Russia is working toward with the talks.
He added that the United Nations has not yet taken a decision to take part in the Sochi conference, noting that the Syrian opposition “is not totally ruling out” attending, but it believes that achieving progress in the coming Geneva talks will render the Sochi meeting pointless.
According to Hariri, the United Nations will not participate in Sochi unless Russia’s talks support the Geneva process.
The veteran opposition figure said that he met on Monday in New York with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.