MESOP : “NO” TO PUTIN MEANS “NO” TO ASSAD – Syrian opposition boycotts Moscow talks

January 10, 2015 – ARA News – Damascus, Syria – On Friday, the prominent Syrian opposition figure Mouaz Al Khatib declined an invitation to join Moscow peace talks with a delegation from the Syrian regime concerning the nearly four-year crisis. “We decided to decline the invitation because the conditions necessary to ensure success were not available,” the moderate Islamist said in an online post.

Khatib has previously called for negotiations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to reach a solution to the ongoing crisis and accomplish political change. The Russian government invited several Syrian opposition figures and representatives of the Assad regime to hold peace talks in Moscow end of January. T he Syrian National Coalition (SNC) –main opposition umbrella– has already refused to participate in the upcoming talks in the Russian capital, vowing that any member joining the talks will be expelled from its ranks. One of the main concerns for the Western-backed Syrian opposition is the status of Assad in Syria’s future, as well as the Russian position as an initiator of this meeting after supporting the Syrian regime since the onset of the crisis. Reporting by: Laila Majdalawi