Syria says ready to enter new peace talks

Syria’s regime said yesterday it was ready to take part in new talks in Geneva aimed at ending the war but appeared to make its participation conditional on which opposition groups will attend, reports AFP from Beirut.
It came as the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group pushed further into a key city in eastern Syria in fighting that left more than two dozen regime loyalists reported dead.
During an official visit to China on Thursday, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus “is ready to participate in the Syrian-Syrian dialogue in Geneva without any foreign interference.”
Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing a peace plan aimed at bringing the regime and opposition together for talks in January.
The plan is the product of a nearly two-month diplomatic flurry among top diplomats from 17 countries, including regime backers Russia and Iran.
But it does not address the sharpest difference between opposition groups and the regime: the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria says ready to enter new peace talks

Syrias regime said yesterday it was ready to take part in new talks in Geneva aimed at ending the war but appeared to make its participation conditional on which opposition groups will attend, reports AFP from Beirut. It came as the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group pushed further into a key city in eastern Syria in fighting that left more than two dozen regime loyalists reported dead. During an official visit to China on Thursday, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus is ready to participate in the Syrian-Syrian dialogue in Geneva without any foreign interference. Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing a peace plan aimed at bringing the regime and opposition together for talks in January. The plan is the product of a nearly two-month diplomatic flurry among top diplomats from 17 countries, including regime backers Russia and Iran. But it does not address the sharpest difference between opposition groups and the regime: the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.