AFP – 21 March 2015 – Syria’s exiled opposition announced Saturday that it had declined an invitation from Russia to attend peace talks in Moscow with representatives of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP this week Syrian government and opposition representatives would meet for peace talks in Moscow on April 6.
But the exiled Syrian National Coalition said it had discussed the invitation during a meeting of its members in Istanbul and “decided not to take part in the Moscow 2” talks.
“There is no reason to attend the meeting in Moscow, especially when we see attempts on the part of the regime’s allies, including Russia and Iran, to place Assad centre-stage again,” Anas al-Abdo told AFP, reiterating rejection of “any political transition that would include Assad”.
The National Coalition is the key political representative of Syria’s opposition and is officially recognized by much of the international community.
It has participated in several rounds of failed peace talks, including two in Geneva, and insists that Assad must step down.
In January, Russia hosted talks aimed at finding a solution to the four-year-old conflict in Syria that was not attended by the National Coalition.
Abdo said the Coalition had decided to boycott the Moscow talks because of “the lack of a clear agenda, the absence a clear point of reference for anything that might be decided and the Coalition’s refusal to engage in dialogue with the regime if this is not part of a transition process”.