Syrian HNC Refutes Information About Upcoming Meeting in Riyadh

Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha said that he has no information on the meeting in Riyadh in the near future.

DUBAI (Sputnik) — The Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) does not plan to convene a meeting in Riyadh in the near future, HNC spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha told Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, media reported that the HNC called on Cairo and Moscow Syrian opposition platforms to attend a joint meeting in Riyadh in mid-August in order to prepare for the next round of Geneva peace talks.

"I have no information on the meeting in Riyadh in the near future. The date has not been determined yet," Agha said, commenting on reports about the upcoming meeting of the HNC in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on Monday, Firas Khalidi, the Cairo platform delegation head, said that they received an invitation from the HNC to organize a meeting of delegations of Syrian opposition groups, however, the Cairo platform would prefer to hold such a meeting in Geneva under the UN auspices.

The HNC is a Saudi Arabia-backed negotiating body, comprising representatives of several Syrian opposition groups. It was created in December 2015 to represent the opposition at Geneva peace talks.

The next round of the Geneva talks on Syrian settlement is scheduled for September, following a new high-level meeting on Syria in Astana which is set to take place later this month.