Syrian Opposition HNC Says Trilateral Talks With Cairo, Moscow Platforms Failed

The HNC spokesman said that trilateral talks between High Negotiations Committee and the Cairo and Moscow opposition platforms, which aimed to establish a joint political program, have failed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Trilateral talks between Syrian opposition Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) and the Cairo and Moscow opposition platforms, which aimed to establish a joint political program, have failed to come to fruition, HNC spokesman Ahmad Ramadan said Tuesday.

"A common position on the political program was discussed at the meeting. Representatives of the Moscow platform opposed the adoption of any document indicating the Syrians' demands for the resignation of [Syrian President] Bashar Assad and his non-admission to any role during the transition period," Ramadan told reporters following the talks in Riyadh.

The spokesman added that the Moscow platform seeks to preserve the Syrian constitution of 2012 with minor amendments while the HNC could not agree to that.

"A significant degree of mutual understanding has developed between the HNC delegation and the Cairo platform," Ramadan said.

The meeting was held on the HNC's initiative and were supposed to develop a common position before the next round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva in September.