Sweden: Russia targets Syrian opposition to undermine it in peace talks

Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström said that Russia has been continuously targeting Syrian opposition in order to undermine its participation in the ongoing talks in Geneva, the Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.

Speaking to the Swedish STV, Wallström said: “Russia’s targeting of the moderate opposition leads to strengthening Daesh and the [Syrian] regime.”

She expressed her “deep concerns” about the “continuous” situation in war-torn Syria.

Previously, the Syrian Human Rights Network said that the Russian airstrikes killed 131 civilians during the first five days of the Geneva talks, which started on Friday.

On Tuesday, the High Negotiation Committee accused the Syrian regime of military escalation despite the positive response of the Syrian opposition to the invitation to take part in the talks. The committee described the ongoing Syrian regime’s operations in the areas surrounding Aleppo as “frenzied”.