Making Lists of Syrian Opposition, Terrorists ‘Not Easy’ – Kremlin

No one said that making lists of Syrian opposition and terrorist groups would be easy, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva have been put back on Monday amid disputes as to who should be invited to represent the opposition to the Syrian government. Some Western media cited Syrian militias demanding that Russia stall airstrikes against forces it considers terrorists.

"Putting active action on hold…this topic has long been on the table. But to do that we need a final list of terrorist organizations and moderate opposition. You probably know we are not there yet," Peskov told reporters. "This process is not easy and no one expected it to be easy."

In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on settling the Syrian conflict, which reaffirmed the goals of the Vienna agreements to bring the entire spectrum of political groups in the crisis-torn country to the negotiating table and stated that the next round of the talks would take place in January 2016.

The Syrian reconciliation talks have been postponed in anticipation of the UN response to the demands put forward by the Syrian opposition. They are scheduled to begin this Friday.