UN sees Syria talks starting on Friday

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The UN said yesterday it would issue invitations for marathon Syrian peace talks to begin this week but opposition groups signalled they would stay away unless the government and its Russian allies halt air strikes and lift sieges on towns.
The first talks in two years to end the Syrian civil war were meant to begin on Monday but have been held up in part by a dispute over who should represent the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was still working on his list and expected to issue the invitations today for talks to start on Friday.
The aim would be six months of talks first seeking a ceasefire later working towards a political settlement to a war that has killed more than 250000 people driven more than 10mn from their homes and drawn in global powers.
The ceasefire would cover the whole country except parts held by Islamic State (IS) militants and the Nusra Front de Mistura told a news conference in Geneva.
De Mistura whose two predecessors quit in apparent frustration after holding failed peace conferences of their own acknowledged the going would be difficult. Delegations would meet in separate rooms in “proximity talks” with diplomats shuttling between them. Threats to pull out should be expected.
“Don’t be surprised: there will be a lot of posturing a lot of walk-outs or walk-ins because a bomb has fallen or someone has done an attack.... You should neither be depressed nor impressed but it’s likely to happen” he said. “The important thing is to keep momentum.”
The spokesman for one of the rebel groups in the opposition High Negotiating Committee (HNC) said it was impossible for the opposition to attend as long as rebel territory is being pounded by air strikes and besieged towns are being starved.
“It is impossible to give up any of our demands. If we attend it’s as if we are selling our martyrs” said Abu Ghiath al-Shami spokesman for Alwiyat Seif al-Sham one of the groups fighting against Assad’s forces in the southwest.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said he expected clarity within a day or two over who would attend and expressed support for de Mistura’s decision to take time to draw up the list.
“We don’t want to decide and have it crumble on day one. It’s worth taking a day or two or three or whatever” Kerry said during a visit to Laos.
The outcome was up to the Syrian parties he added: “They have to be serious. If they are not serious war will continue. Up to them. You can lead a horse to water; you can’t make it drink.”
Years of high-level diplomacy have so far yielded no progress towards ending or even curbing the fighting. Since the last peace conference was held in early 2014 Islamic State fighters have declared a “caliphate” across much of Syria and Iraq and the war has drawn in world powers.
The US has led air strikes against the militants since 2014 and Russia launched a separate air campaign nearly four months ago against enemies of its ally Assad.
Russian firepower has helped the Syrian military and its allies achieve military gains including a major push in the northwest of the country in recent days with rebels acknowledging a turn in momentum.
The rise of Islamic State and Russia’s entry into the war have given new impetus to diplomacy leading to a December 18 UN Security Council resolution backed by Washington and Moscow that called for peace talks.
But world powers remain at odds over who should be invited. Russia says opposition figures it calls terrorists must be excluded and wants to include groups like the Kurds who control wide areas of northern Syria. Regional heavyweight Turkey opposes inviting the Kurds.
The main opposition groups who are supported by Arab governments and the West say they will not attend unless they can choose their own delegation. Spokesman Salim al-Muslat said the opposition HNC would discuss its position today.
The HNC formed in Saudi Arabia last month and grouping armed and political opponents of Assad has repeatedly said talks cannot begin until air strikes are halted government sieges of rebel-held territory lifted and detainees freed steps outlined in the UN resolution.
The peace conference if it takes place will be the third since the war began and the first convened by de Mistura a veteran diplomat with dual Swedish and Italian nationality.
A suicide bomber driving a fuel tank truck blew himself up at a checkpoint run by the Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham in the northern city of Aleppo yesterday killing at least 23 people the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.