Damascus backs Syria talks, wants list of "terrorist groups" and opposition negotiators

The Syrian government told a U.N. envoy on Saturday it was ready to take part in Geneva peace talks scheduled for Jan. 25 but stressed the need to see the names of the Syrian opposition figures who will take part.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, who met U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura in Damascus, also stressed the need for the government to obtain a list of groups that would be classed as terrorists, state media reported.

A U.N. plan to suspend Syria's nearly five-year-old civil war calls for listing which militant groups may be fought despite an eventual ceasefire, one of the toughest issues vexing diplomats trying to end the conflict.

 

 

 

REUTERS