Syria peace talks pushed back as opposition appeals to UN chief

Talks to end Syria’s civil war risked being delayed for the second time this week as the opposition stuck to its demands for an end to air strikes and blockades and said on Thursday it was waiting for a response from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon.

The opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) blamed those responsible for “bombardment and starvation of civilians”, meaning the Syrian government and its allies, for obstructing the start of talks to end a five-year war that has killed a quarter of a million people.

The talks, the first in two years, were meant to start in Geneva on Monday but the United Nations has pushed them back to Friday to allow more time to agree a list of participants, some of whom are regarded by the Syrian government as terrorists, and persuade the opposition to engage.

But even a Friday start looks increasingly unlikely unless diplomacy can achieve a major breakthrough in the coming hours.

“We are serious about taking part... but what is hindering the start of negotiations is the one who is bombing civilians and starving them,” HNC spokesman Salim al-Muslat said.

An opposition source familiar with the HNC’s talks this week in Saudi Arabia said it was waiting for a response from the U.N. Secretary-General over its demands, which are also part of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed on Dec. 18.

The source said the opposition had already received a response from U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who had told them that he did not have the authority to implement the resolution.

De Mistura’s office was not immediately available to comment.

The United States, whose Secretary of State John Kerry is among those pushing for negotiations to get started on Friday, urged Syrian opposition groups to seize the “historic opportunity” and enter talks without preconditions to end the war, which has also displaced more than 11 million people.