The latest push to end Syria’s tangled conflict was in fresh disarray on Wednesday as the government denied formal talks had begun and the opposition cancelled a meeting with the UN envoy following intense Russian airstrikes.
The main Opposition umbrella group attending the biggest effort yet to end the war called Russia’s bombardment near Aleppo — with 270 raids since Monday morning, according to monitors — “unprecedented”.
“Since last night a big massacre is taking place in Syria and nobody is doing anything. Nobody is saying anything, the international community is completely blind,” said Salem al-Meslet from the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura on Wednesday declared that indirect talks between the Government and the Opposition had officially begun in Switzerland, saying he hoped to “achieve something” by February 11.
But chief Government negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari shot this down on Wednesday, saying the talks were still “in a preparatory phase”, that the Opposition had failed to even name its negotiating team and that there was no agenda.