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Conflict in Syria

Syrian opposition delegation unprepared for serious talks - Syrian FM Muallem

Peace conference is expected to be followed by direct talks between the Syrian government and opposition later

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem

© EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY

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Coalition refuses to start talks until government’s written consent with Geneva Communiqué

GENEVA, January 24. /ITAR-TASS/. The delegation representing the Syrian opposition is not ready for serious talks, Syrian state television quoted Foreign Minister Walid Muallem as saying on Friday at a meeting with joint UN and Arab League special Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Geneva.

The Geneva II international peace conference on Syria kicked off on January 22 in Montreux, Switzerland, and continues in Geneva. It seeks to find ways out of the Syrian crisis, which has claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced millions since its start in 2011. The conference is expected to be followed by direct talks between the Syrian government and opposition later.

Muallem warned Brahimi that the Syrian government delegation would “leave Geneva unless serious working meetings start on Saturday.”

However, a correspondent of the Syria TV channel reported from Geneva that talks between Muallem and Brahimi were “held in a constructive spirit.”

“The platform was discussed on the basis of which talks would probably be launched,” the correspondent quoted a Syrian government delegation source as saying.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF), Ahmad al-Jarba, has left Geneva, a diplomatic source told Itar-Tass.

“NCSROF Secretary General Badr Jamous is entitled to hold talks on behalf of the Syrian opposition,” the source said.

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