Damascus Says Syrian Opposition Split on All Issues Raised at Moscow Talks

MOSCOW, January 29 (Sputnik) – Members of the Syrian opposition were unable to come up with a unified stance on any issue raised during the reconciliation conference in Moscow, the head of the Syrian government’s delegation said Thursday.

“We could not discern a unified position by opposition members on any issue. Some agreed to a proposal, others objected. They even disagreed even on very important humanitarian aspects,” said Bashar Ja’afari, who is also Syria’s envoy to the United Nations.

However, the government delegation describes the results of the talks in Moscow as “positive,” the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary General of Syrian National Youth Party Suheir Sarmini told Sputnik on Thursday that during the talks in Moscow members of Syria's government and opposition managed to reach consensus on four key points.

According to Sarmini, the sides to the Syrian conflict agreed on the "activation and acceleration of delivery of humanitarian aid to all regions of Syria, without exception on the basis of a relevant UN resolution," as well as "calls on the international community to alleviate and lift economic sanctions imposed against Syrian people."

Sarmini stated that it was also decided to work on holding the next meeting which would take place in a month at the latest.

On January 26 – 29, Moscow hosted the first round of intra-Syria talks, which have gathered Syria's government officials, representatives from opposition parties and UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

Russian moderator Vitaly Naumkin said Thursday that the talks in Moscow were not an attempt to monopolize efforts aimed at Syrian reconciliation, and could not be considered as an alternative to the UN-backed Geneva talks.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011, has claimed the lives of 200,000 people so far, according to the UN estimates.