Main opposition group to join Syrian peace talks after missing first day

The group's delegation had earlier said it would not participate in the talks without an end to the bombardment of civilians by Russian and government forces and a lifting of sieges in rebel-held areas.

Syrian ambassador to UN and head of the government delegation Bashar Al Jaafari (R) faces UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura at the opening of Syrian peace talks in Geneva on January 29, 2016. Fabrice Coffrini/AFPShow less

BEIRUT // Indirect peace talks aimed at resolving Syria’s five-year conflict began on Friday in Geneva – but without the participation of the main opposition group.

The first meeting took place between UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura and a government delegation headed by the country’s ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja’afari.

The main opposition delegation had said it would not participate in the talks without an end to the bombardment of civilians by Russian and government forces and a lifting of sieges in rebel-held areas.

But later in the day a senior member of the delegation said it would attend talks after all.

The delegate said the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) – the body created by the main opposition coalition to represent them at talks – would send “about 30, 35 people” to the talks.

Over the past week or so, the committee has grown increasingly paranoid it was being forced into negotiations that favoured the government. This at a time when the government has shown little sign of letting up attacks.

The committee was meeting in Riyadh when they received invitations on Tuesday and remained there on Friday as talks began, still deliberating over whether or not to take part.

Non-HNC opposition figures were in Geneva on Friday, but they were invited to the talks only as advisers – the HNC was supposed to be the official opposition delegation.

These figures included Haytham Manna, a long-standing opposition member who is co-chair of the political wing of a Kurdish-Arab alliance. The most powerful Kurdish faction in Syria, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), was not in Geneva, however, having not been invited to the talks in the first place.

Both the government and HNC cemented themselves in hardline positions ahead of negotiations, unwilling to compromise after having fought for so long and lost so much.

The HNC demanded a halt to aerial bombardments and sieges of rebel-held areas before they would participate in official discussions, but government offensives have advanced over the past week, capturing several key rebel towns. Russia’s air campaign has continued as well, with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying last week that more than 1,000 civilians had died in Russian strikes since they began on September 30. Just two days before the planned talks, Russian strikes killed 54 civilians, according to the monitoring group.

Syria’s government gave few signs they were ready to seriously negotiate, with senior Baath party official Hilal Al Hilal saying earlier this week that they would not make any concessions at the talks.

Looking to strengthen their hand, the HNC looked to narrow the definition of “opposition”, insisting that they would not participate if there was a third side present. This was a jab at moderate, secular opposition members who have a much different vision of Syria than many of the main opposition grouping. But more so, it was a statement against any participation of the PYD.

The PYD’s militia controls large amounts of territory in north-east Syria and has been a formidable fighting force against ISIL. But many rebels have long accused the group of supporting the Syrian government, which it has avoided confronting. Although the PYD stresses its opposition to Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, the government withdrew from many Kurdish-majority areas early on in the war. Since then the PYD has focused on state-building and fighting ISIL, although at times it has also found itself battling other opposition units in disputed areas.

Turkey, meanwhile, considers the PYD part of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a group that Ankara is at war with at home, and said it would withdraw its support for the talks if the PYD was included.

As the talks approached, the HNC faced increased pressure to attend, but until late on Friday this looked to be backfiring. Mr de Mistura, it had said, was trying to force the committee into the negotiations. Meanwhile, Assad Al Zoubi, who was due to head the HNC delegation at the talks, claimed earlier in the week that US secretary of state John Kerry was adopting Iranian and Russian ideas about Syria. Tehran and Moscow are the chief allies of president Al Assad.

Well aware of the delicacies surrounding the talks, the UN made the difficult decision of not inviting the PYD and addressing one of the HNC’s demands. But sieges and offensives on rebel territory continued on Friday, with the government not giving an indication that they would stop. In reality there is little the UN can do to force the Syrian government to stop its military action if it does not want to.

On Thursday, as the Geneva talks looked to be over before they had even begun, Russia proposed a fresh set of talks next month in Munich. But as it stands, without both sides willing to compromise, no number of scheduled meetings in major European cities will bring peace.

* With additional reporting by Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Press