GENEVA (Sputnik) – On Monday, the HNC asked UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to put the talks "on pause", blaming the government for the escalation of violence in Syria's Aleppo.
"The fact that the HNC has suspended its participation in the negotiations is a wrong, mistaken decision. Arguments aimed at justifying this decision put forward by the Riyadh-backed delegation are absolutely inconsistent… Blackmail, threats, preconditions, unfortunately, have become the HNC’s trademark," Borodavkin said.
The opposition group has no constructive stance during the current negotiations on Syria, that’s why its delegation "drops out of the negotiations context regardless of the fact they interrupt their participation in the process or not," he stressed.
"They have objectively pulled out of it," the Russian diplomat noted.
Commenting on the HNC's decision to take a pause in the talks up to the moment Damascus stops military action in Syria, Borodavkin pointed out that "if they want a radical solution of humanitarian issues, [then] it is impossible to achieve this beyond the context of a political settlement."
"Only under the condition that the conflict is settled in a peaceful way, it will be possible to effectively address the issues of humanitarian assistance, but the HNC leaves the negotiations. Where is the logic?" the Russian envoy highlighted.
Russia Surprised by Syria HNC's Allegedly Unanimous Decision to Put Talks on Hold
Moscow is surprised with the statement about the allegedly unanimous decision of HNC to take a pause in the talks since more constructive part of the group disagrees with such a stance, Borodavkin told Sputnik.
"We were surprised that the statement about the suspension of the HNC participation in the talks was made, allegedly, on behalf of the entire delegation," Borodavkin said.
"At present, we get information that the constructive part of HNC does not agree with this decision. One ought to have expected that: sane opposition members should not be led by extremists," the Russian envoy stressed.
Unfortunately, the Syrian opposition is quite fragmented, he added.
"There are representatives of both moderate and more radical forces. We believe it is important that the most sane opposition forces unite on a common political platform," Borodavkin outlined.
It is crucial that they concentrate on finding a way out of Syria’s acute crisis accompanied by the civil war and unite to combat terrorism, he concluded.
