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Syria: Regime reportedly ready to talk transition
[AA.TR] The Syrian opposition at Geneva IV peace talks said Wednesday they had been told by UN mediator Staffan de Mistura that the regime delegation had agreed to discuss the issue of political transition."We hear from de Mistura a positive thing. Due to the Russian pressure, there is acceptance to tackle the issue of... political transition," Nasr al-Hariri, head of the Syrian opposition delegation, told a presser at the UN in Geneva after meeting with de Mistura. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, whose government supports Bashir al-Assad’s regime, met the opposition delegation Wednesday afternoon in Geneva. Gatilov said beforehand that he would listen to the opposition’s view of the current situation. "Today, we will have a meeting with Russia’s deputy foreign minister. In this meeting, we are going to discuss in details the issues related to cease-fire and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in different areas in Syria, especially Eastern Ghouta, and to seek a way to support the political process that is taking place now," Hariri said. About the issue of political transition, Hariri said, "We hope that Russia will have a constructive role in this issue." Russia on Tuesday called for the opposing sides in the Syrian peace talks to negotiate directly. In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Gatilov said: "Direct talks, that is what we [have been] calling for from the very beginning. Unfortunately, this has not happened until now." Posted by: Fred 2017-03-02 |
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