MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Security Council has ordered the United Nations to create a delegation of the Syrian opposition for talks with the country’s government, the composition of this delegation is likely to be discussed next week, the coalition leader of Syria’s Popular Front for Change and Liberation told Sputnik on Monday.
"The Security Council has ordered to the United Nations to compose a representative delegation of opposition, I think its composition will be discussed next week at a meeting of [US State Secretary John] Kerry, [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov and [UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan] de Mistura," Qadri Jamil said.
According to Jamil, there are around 40 people on Moscow’s list.
The Syrian opposition groups which convened in Riyadh for talks are trying to claim a monopoly when a united list of opposition for future talks with the country’s government is formed, Qadri Jamil told Sputnik on Monday.
On December 8, opposition groups from Syria gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two days later, they formed a 32-member council tasked with choosing 15 delegates to represent the Syrian opposition during talks with Damascus.
"The composition of the Syrian opposition has not been determined, while the opposition which met in Riyadh is trying to monopolize influence and is trying to claim [a] monopoly when forming a united list of opposition for future talks with the Syrian government, which should take place in January," Qadri Jamil said.
Government and opposition representatives are due to hold negotiations under UN auspices by January 1, 2016, as outlined by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in November.
Russia considers that forming a list of credible and moderate opposition representatives is a necessary condition for starting these intra-Syrian talks. The list has to exclude any possible presence of terrorist groups' representatives actively operating against Syrian governmental forces.
Earlier this month, Russian envoy to UN Vitaly Churkin said UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura should play a key role in forming the delegation of Syrian opposition that will ultimately meet with President Bashar Assad government officials for reconciliation talks.
