US denies proposal to conduct direct talks with Syrian delegation in Geneva

The US denied claims by Syrian Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Moualem that America suggested conducting direct talks with the Syrian delegation in Geneva, Aljazeera.net reported on Sunday.

US State Department Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said Washington had suggested contact with Syrian officials supervised by the UN-Arab envoy Lakhdar Brahimi “on a staff level”.

She continued: “At no point did the United States offer to negotiate directly with the Syrian regime.”

Al-Moualem said on Saturday that the Syrian regime delegation to Geneva had refused an American proposal for direct talks. Al-Moualem demanded US Secretary of State John Kerry apologise for remarks in Montreux, Switzerland.

In his opening speech at a conference in Montreaux, Kerry said: “There is no way, no way possible, that a man who has led a brutal response to his own people can regain legitimacy to govern.”

Psaki also ruled out the possibility of Kerry apologising for his comment. “At no point will Secretary Kerry ever apologise for speaking the truth about the brutality the Assad regime has inflicted on the people of Syria”