News & Events

The official Syrian opposition’s veto on Kurdish involvement in peace talks must be dropped, expert warns.

Syria’s opposition plans to unveil its plans for a political transition to help end the country’s five-year war at a meeting of ministers in London next week, a delegate said.

Syria’s main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, has threatened to boycott the next round of peace talks unless the government stops its bombing campaign and the situation on the ground improves.

Peace talks described as a last-chance effort to avert even greater bloodshed in Syria resumed Monday, a day before the fifth anniversary of the country’s peaceful uprising that eventually devolved into catastrophic civil war.

The United States accused the Syrian government of trying to “disrupt” peace talks after the latter declared the departure of President Bashar al-Assad was a “red line” that was not open for discussion.

Diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian conflict have been plunged into a fresh crisis with the UN special envoy announcing a temporary suspension of talks in Geneva between the opposition and the government.

The UN Security Council has unanimously agreed on the text of a draft resolution for peace talks in January and a ceasefire aimed at ending the war in Syria.

Russia and the US are expected to take part in Syria peace talks in October, along with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, according to Russia’s deputy foreign minister.