MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are set to meet in Zurich on Thursday, five days before the intra-Syria talks in Geneva.
“The opposition list has not been agreed yet. The issue will be discussed and, I believe, finally agreed at the January 20 meeting of Lavrov and Kerry. I think that the decision will be made that this list will consist of two groups – Riyadh-proposed opposition members and the second, which would be proposed by Moscow and Cairo,” the source said.
During the last round of international negotiations on the Syrian settlement on December 18, the sides failed to reach a consensus on what groups within Syria should be designated as terrorist and banned from the Geneva conference, where opposition representatives will meet with Syrian authorities.
Moscow considers that forming a list of credible and moderate opposition representatives is a necessary condition for starting the intra-Syrian talks. Earlier this month, Lavrov said a sustainable settlement in Syria was impossible without an agreed single list of terrorist organizations operating in the country.
Several groups of Syrian external opposition met in the Saudi capital Riyadh in December despite protests from Damascus. They formed a council that hopes to handpick delegates to represent the opposition at the upcoming talks with Damascus representatives.
