The spokesperson of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Salim al-Muslit , said that the Syrian opposition was sticking to its position that Bashar al-Assad cannot have a role in the transition or in future Syria, stressing “the heavy price paid by the Syrian people” would be wasted if Assad remained in power.
“We want direct negotiations, we want to save time, we want a quick end to the suffering of the Syrian people,” Muslit said. But he said the opposition had yet to receive an agenda for the talks, which are due to begin on February 23 following preliminary meetings beginning on February 20.
Despite the ceasefire, Muslit said that the Assad regime and its allies were still carrying out crimes and preparing a major assault against the eastern Ghouta region to the east of Damascus.
“We now want to get into the essence of the political process – the discussion of the political transition – and what the Geneva 1 communique stipulated about the formation of a transitional body with full powers,” Muslit added. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
