Syrian opposition denies knowledge of peace talks with regime

One of Syria’s main opposition groups made it clear on Tuesday that it has no knowledge of what Russia claims are peace talks with the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad. “We in the High Negotiations Committee certainly have no connection to this matter,” HNC member George Sabra told Reuters.

According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the Syrian government was consulting with opposition groups ahead of possible peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan.

“During the recent meeting in Moscow with my colleagues from Iran and Turkey,” Lavrov explained, “we approved a joint declaration in which we confirmed our readiness to guarantee a future agreement between the Syrian government and the opposition.” Negotiations, he added, are ongoing.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian media quoted a diplomatic source as saying that representatives of the Russian and Turkish militaries were conducting talks with the Syrian opposition in Ankara over a nationwide ceasefire.