Syrian Opposition to Meet in Riyadh on November 22nd

TEHRAN (defapress) - Saudi Arabia has responded to the Syrian opposition’s request to hold a meeting in Riyadh from November 22nd to the 24th, media reports said.

News ID: 66997

Date: 14 November 2017 - 15:34

According to a report by SPA news agency, talks set for November 22-24 aim "to bring its parties and platforms closer together and unite its negotiating delegation to resume direct negotiations in Geneva under the auspices of the UN.”

Saudi Arabia backs a grouping of opposition figures called the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) led by Riyad Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister under Assad. The HNC has represented the Syrian opposition at previous Geneva talks.

In August, representatives of the Syrian opposition met in the Saudi capital to prepare for peace talks in Geneva. The Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee began discussions with delegations from two other moderate camps, the Cairo and Moscow groupings, in a bid to reach consensus on negotiations. The meeting ended in stalemate.

After hosting seven rounds of largely unsuccessful talks, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura is trying to unify the opposition for new round of negotiations in November 28.

However, Turkey and Iran, along with Russia, are the brokers for the Astana peace talks which has led to establishment of four de-escalation zones in the war-torn country.

It is for more than seven years that Syria is entangled in a war with foreign sponsored Takfiri terrorists. The US and Saudi Arabia are major supporters of terrorist groups and are providing them  with intelligence, training, weapon and logistical support.