MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Representatives of the two groups have been included in the list of the Geneva talks participants, as a part of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee. The talks are set to begin on Friday evening.
"Our firm position is that the inclusion of organizations that are terrorist groups is unacceptable," the ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told reporters answering a question regarding Moscow's position on the groups' participation in the talks.
During the last round of the international negotiations on the Syrian settlement in December, the conflicting sides failed to reach consensus on what groups within Syria should be designated as terrorist and banned from the Geneva conference.