(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The UN special envoy for Syria fought yesterday to keep alive the biggest diplomatic push yet to end the Syrian war as Washington urged both sides in fragile peace talks to seize the moment.
Highlighting the urgency, a triple bombing near a revered Shia shrine outside the capital Damascus killed more than 50 people in the latest bloody attack claimed by the extremist Islamic State group.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the attacks were "clearly aimed to disrupt the attempts to start a political process" to end a conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people.
In Geneva, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura held separate talks with representatives of President Bashar al-Assad and with the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) opposition umbrella group.
He said he was "optimistic and determined", but comments from both sides laid bare the magnitude of the challenges ahead for ending a highly complex and bitter conflict.
The HNC delegation reluctantly arrived late on Saturday in Geneva and immediately threatened to turn around and leave again unless Assad's "crimes" stop.
Among its demands are that humanitarian aid be allowed to reach hundreds of thousands of people stuck in besieged towns, a halt to the bombing of civilians and the release of hundreds of prisoners.
"We only came to Geneva after written commitments on the fact that there would be serious progress on the humanitarian issues," HNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani told reporters.
"We are here for political negotiations but we cannot start those until we have those gestures."
But Damascus's chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari denounced the opposition as "not serious".
"We do not know who is the other side. They don't even have a final list," he told a packed news conference.
US Secretary of State John Kerry urged both sides "to make the most of this moment" in an online statement broadcast from Washington.
Kerry urged the opposition to drop their preconditions, but also had hard words for their foes, accusing Assad's forces of deliberately starving besieged towns.
He described the talks in Geneva as being at a "pivotal phase" and said the HNC represented an "inclusive opposition".
De Mistura's office said yesterday that further separate talks would be held today with the opposition and government delegations.
HNC spokesman Munzer Makhous said that the group would stay in Geneva for at least three or four more days.
The conflict in Syria has allowed IS militants to overrun swathes of the country and also in neighbouring Iraq.
Half of Syria's population have fled their homes, forcing millions to seek refuge in neighbouring countries and also in Europe, where the influx has sparked a major political and social crisis.
The Syrian peace talks, meant to last six months, are part of an ambitious road map agreed by all the external powers embroiled in the conflict in Vienna in November.
This "Vienna Process" envisages negotiations followed by a transitional government, a new constitution and elections within 18 months, but leaves the question of Assad's future unresolved.
Another thorny issue is which rebel groups will be involved in the talks, although all sides agree on the exclusion of extremists from IS and Al Nusra Front, Al Qaeda's Syrian branch.
The powerful Army of Islam rebel group is part of HNC's delegation to Geneva, and the HNC's chief negotiator and Army of Islam member Mohamed Alloush said yesterday that he would be in Geneva the next day.
The choice of Alloush has been controversial, with Syria's ally Moscow saying it considers Army of Islam as "terrorists" and other opposition groups insisting it was unacceptable for the delegation to be led by a member of an armed group.
But Alloush dismissed the criticism yesterday. "Bashar al-Assad is the one who is the terrorist," he said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu yesterday voiced support for the Syrian opposition figures who have travelled to Geneva for the peace talks.
"We share the same position which consists of supporting our Syrian brothers directly or when they take part in international meetings," Jubeir said in Riyadh at a joint news conference with Cavusoglu.
Turkey's top diplomat echoed him, saying: "We back demands for a truce and for sending humanitarian aid" to besieged towns in Syria as requested by the opposition.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey are both opposed to Assad's regime and have called for his removal from power.
Yesterday's joint Saudi-Turkish news conference came as Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wrapped up a three-day visit to the kingdom and met King Salman.
Jubeir told reporters that Riyadh and Ankara have agreed to set up a "strategic co-operation council" to co-ordinate their positions, including in "the battle against terrorism, politics, security and military affairs".
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