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Conflict in Syria

Moscow group of Syrian opposition ready to take part in Geneva talks

A single opposition delegation should be formed for the success of the talks, one of the leaders of the Syrian Popular Front for Change said

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. The Moscow group of Syria’s opposition is prepared to take part in the February 8 intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, but a single opposition delegation should be formed for their success, Qadri Jamil, one of the leaders of the Syrian Popular Front for Change, told TASS.

"I want to stress that holding the Geneva talks in an old format will doom them to a full failure. We need direct talks and direct talks cannot be held when on the one hand there is a regime and on the other hand there are three opposition delegations," said Jamil, who is the representative of the Moscow group of Syria’s opposition.

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"If we want to sabotage direct negotiations, let’s have three delegations, and if we want to speak seriously we need one delegation," he added.

He said the current situation will contribute to the creation of a single delegation. "This task is easier as the Riyadh group has a very deep crisis now," Jamil added. "I think objective terms will help solve the task of creating a single delegation of the opposition."

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura earlier said that he planned to convene a new round of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva on February 8, 2017. The previous round was held in April 2016.

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