A first round of talks to end the war in Syria have had no tangible results because of the immaturity of the opposition delegation and their "threats to implode" the talks, as well as blatant U.S. interference, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Friday.
Moualem said there was no pressure on his delegation from Russia, a key ally, but there was coordination between Damascus and Moscow.
This as the Syrian government delegation to peace talks in Geneva has said it needs to consult with Damascus before it can confirm it will return for a second round on Feb 10, mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said, after the close of the first round.
"They didn't tell me that they are thinking of not coming. On the contrary, they said that they would come but they needed to check with their capital," Brahimi told a news conference in Geneva. He said the opposition delegation had confirmed it would come back.
Brahimi listed 10 "simple" points that he felt the two sides agreed on in the talks and said he thought there was more common ground than the two sides recognized. He has asked both sides to return to work on a prepared agenda after a week's break.
After a week of talks at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, the opposing sides in Syria's civil war were still stuck on the question of how to proceed. Friday's closing session was expected to be largely ceremonial, with government and opposition delegates expected to meet again around Feb. 10.
He was "very, very disappointed" that a UN aid convoy was still waiting fruitlessly to enter the rebel-held Old City of Homs, where the United States says civilians are starving.
UN spokesman Jens Laerke said negotiations were still under way with both sides on the ground to try to get the aid convoy through: "Unfortunately, I have just received an update that there is no movement on that convoy as of this morning."
With no achievements on substance, diplomats said the priority now is just to keep the talks process going in the hope that hardline positions can be modified over time.
The first meeting between President Bashar al-Assad's government and foes in three years of war began last week with an international conference at which both sides set out firm positions from which they never yielded. The talks repeatedly seemed on the verge of collapse before they began, and just getting the delegates to sit in the same room was deemed an achievement.
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International powers backing the Syrian opposition blamed the government of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday for the failure to make headway at peace talks in Geneva.
The Friends of Syria, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries, met in Geneva on Friday, shortly after the first round of talks ended, and called on Assad not to obstruct further rounds of talks.
"The regime is responsible for the lack of real progress in the first round of negotiations. It must not further obstruct substantial negotiations and it must engage constructively in the second round of negotiations," the group said in a statement.
REUTERS
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