Syrian Opposition's HNC to Reject Delay in Next Round of Peace Talks

The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) will not accept a delay in the next round of intra-Syrian talks if it is caused by legislative elections the group considers illegitimate, HNC spokesman Salem Meslet told Sputnik on Tuesday.

GENEVA (Sputnik) – Last month, Syrian President Bashar Assad set the date for the next parliamentary elections to be held on April 13.

"We were told the second round will take place on April 4. If [Special UN Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura] wants to postpone it, he should not postpone it upon the request of [government delegation leader, Ambassador Bashar] Jaafari for illegitimate elections in Syria. If it is postponed for this reason, we will not accept that," Meslet said.

The HNC spokesman clarified that "if it is postponed until April 10 or 11, just to take more time to examine all documents, that is fine."

"We will agree on the date that de Mistura sets for the next round, but we will not accept a delay just for the reason of the elections in Syria," Meslet reaffirmed.

The latest round in negotiations between Syrian government and opposition forces is due to recess on Thursday, March 24. A source at the negotiations told Sputnik last week the round was expected to conclude with a working paper for the sides to clarify their positions on main issues related to a political transition.

De Mistura envisioned the second two-week round to start "a week or 10 days after the new recess," followed by a third round after another recess.