Syria’s main opposition group on Friday said it would boycott Russian peace talks next week in a major blow to Moscow’s diplomatic efforts towards resolving the brutal seven-year conflict.
“Russia has not succeeded in promoting its conference,” the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC) said on Twitter.
“The SNC has decided not to participate at Sochi after marathon negotiations with the UN and representatives of countries involved in Syria.”
Dozens of rebel groups had already refused to join the talks next Monday and Tuesday organised by the Syrian regime’s powerful ally Moscow, and the question of whether the main opposition would attend has overshadowed two days of separate UN-backed peace talks in Vienna.
These talks stretched late into Friday night, with both regime officials and the SNC meeting separately with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura — who did not strike an especially optimistic tone after the gruelling negotiations. As with eight previous rounds of failed UN-backed talks, there was no sign that the warring sides had met face to face at discussions intended to lay the groundwork for a new post-war constitution.
Ahead of an SNC press conference on Saturday, there was little detail about why the opposition had ultimately decided to boycott Sochi, though spokesperson Yahya al-Aridi earlier described the talks in Vienna as “tough”.
