MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Syrian National Coalition — a coalition of Syrian opposition groups — issued a joint statement hours earlier holding Syria and "its Russian ally responsible for any failure of the political process," casting doubt on the prospect of intra-Syria talks being held in Geneva as scheduled on January 25.
"They are not bluffing; they are supported from some countries and, in the current situation, they consider there are no conditions to start negotiations," Samir Aita said.
"This group is a part of negotiation and present in a high commission for negotiations. They had been nominated from Riyadh," Aita stressed.
The newest round of talks between the Syrian opposition and the government representatives was initially slated for January 25 in Geneva. On Friday the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) announced that the much-anticipated talks between Damascus and Syrian opposition were likely to be postponed for a few days.
George Sabra, a member of the Syrian National Coalition has previously said "we are in no way tied to a concrete date of the negotiations."
The Russian General Staff has routinely rejected Western allegations of Russian airstrikes targeting opposition and civilian targets, saying it closely coordinates its intelligence to target exclusively terrorist positions.
