UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — Members of the Syrian opposition are ready to sit down with representatives of the Bashar Assad government, President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces Anas Abdah told Sputnik.
"Of course," Abdah said on Monday when asked if the opposition was ready to return to talks about a political transition with the government in Damascus. "But, as they say in English, it takes two to tango, and unless the regime is willing to participate in these negotiations we cannot achieve anything."
Under United Nations auspices, the Syrian government and members of the opposition have made multiple, ultimately unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement towards a political transition in the country.
In July, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura suggested that new talks could begin in August. As of September, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told RIA Novosti that new intra-Syrian talks could restart at the beginning of October.
Under the December 2015 UN Security Council resolution 2254, the international community and Syrian stakeholders committed to a road map for a political transition in the war-torn country, beginning with a sustained nation-wide ceasefire, excluding terrorist entities.
