Russia blocked in bid to blacklist Syria rebels

Reuters, 12 May 2016 – Britain, the United States, France and Ukraine blocked a Russian proposal at the United Nations to blacklist Syrian rebel groups, Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham, diplomats said on Wednesday.
Russia made the proposal late last month and the US mission to the United Nations had signaled it would oppose the move, saying it would undermine attempts to get a sustained halt in the fighting in Syria.
The UN Security Council’s 15-member ISIS and al-Qaeda sanctions committee has to agree by consensus before individuals or groups can be blacklisted.
Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army) is a major armed rebel group in Syria and part of the High Negotiation Committee, which was set up in Riyadh last December to negotiate on behalf of opposition groups at U.N.-brokered peace talks with the government.
The High Negotiation Committee is backed by Western nations and key Arab states.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has long said that Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham should not be involved in Syria peace talks.
Ahrar al-Sham last year denied sharing al Qaeda’s ideology or having organizational ties to the group.