Syrian Opposition Group Insists on Start of Direct Talks With Damascus

The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) insists on the beginning of the direct negotiations with the Syrian government at the Geneva peace talks on the Syrian reconciliation, HNC spokesman Salem Meslet said Friday.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — The Swiss city of Geneva is currently hosting proximity talks between the opposition and the Syrian government.

The current round of the Syrian peace talks will conclude on March 24 with a working paper in which UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will ask delegations to clarify their positions on the main issues related to a political transition.

"I believe that if it remains indirect talks it means, if they insist on indirect talks, they came here in Geneva just to waste time and buy time for Assad. For us now we don’t want that. We want direct talks that save time, that save people on the ground, because every hour we really waste we lose about ten lives there," he told reporters.