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Conflict in Syria

Syria’s opposition not to change its delegation to second round of talks in Geneva

GENEVA, February 09, 20:48 /ITAR-TASS/. Syria’s opposition will send the same delegation to the second round of talks within the framework of the Geneva II international peace conference due to begin on Monday, February 10, a source in the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF) told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

“The composition of the delegation will not be changed,” the source said. “Maybe, a couple of new representatives will join but the team to be present in the negotiating room will be the same.”

According to the source, the leaders of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Ahmad al-Jarba, has not yet arrived in Geneva.

The previous round of intra-Syrian talks ended on January 31 after eight days of consultations. Formally, the Syrian government delegation was led by Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallen, and the opposition’s delegation was led by al-Jarba. But the two men were not physically present in the negotiating room having delegated their competences to their proxies, Bashar al-Jafari, Syria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations, from the government delegations and Hadi Al Bahra, a member of the Syrian National Coalition's Political Committee, from the opposition delegation.

Earlier on Sunday, a well-informed source told Itar-Tass that the government delegation led by Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallen had already arrived in Geneva.

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