Saudi-Backed Syrian Opposition Yet to Receive Invitation for Next Talks

Syria’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) opposition group backed by Saudi Arabia has not yet received an invitation for the next round of UN-mediated proximity talks with the Syrian government, HNC spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha said Saturday.

DUBAI (Sputnik) – On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the talks would resume no earlier than after the holy month of Ramadan, which ends July 5 this year. Similar comments were previously made by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad.

"There was no invitation for the new round of talks, nor its date," Naasan Agha told RIA Novosti in a telephone interview.

De Mistura has said he wants to see real progress made in the implementation of the decisions of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) before announcing the date of the next round of Syria peace talks.

Last week, ISSG agreed on specific steps to strengthen ceasefire in Syria and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria.

The latest round of intra-Syrian talks took place in Geneva on April 13-27. The Riyadh-formed HNC walked out of the negotiations, citing the continuous fighting in Syria and the lack of progress on humanitarian issues.