Geneva, AFP, 31 January 2016 – The umbrella body comprising Syria’s principal mainstream opposition groups threatened Saturday to withdraw from peace talks shortly after its delegation arrived in Geneva if the “crimes” of Bashar al-Assad’s regime persisted.
“If the regime insists on continuing to commit these crimes then the HNC (High Negotiations Committee) delegation’s presence in Geneva will not be justified,” HNC coordinator Riad Hijab warned in a statement in Arabic posted online.
“The delegation will inform (U.N. special envoy Staffan) de Mistura of its intentions to withdraw its negotiating team if the U.N. and world powers are unable to stop these violations,” said Hijab, who was not among those present in Geneva.
HNC representatives landed in Geneva late Saturday a day after a delegation for Assad’s government arrived and held preliminary talks with de Mistura.
They are demanding first that U.N. Security Council resolutions requiring an end to sieges of more than a dozen Syrian towns are adhered to and that bombardments of civilians cease.