HNC Unprepared to Engage in Syria Settlement - Damascus Delegation

GENEVA (Sputnik) — The decision of the Syrian opposition's Riyadh-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to suspend its participation in the intra-Syrian talks proves that the HNC delegation is immature and not ready to engage in the process of political settlement, Bashar Jaafari, the head of the Damascus delegation at the peace negotiations in Geneva, told Sputnik on Monday.

Earlier in the day, a source close to the negotiations told Sputnik that the HNC would stay in Geneva but asked for a short break while truce violations in Syria continued.

"By deciding to withdraw or suspend their participation, they are showing their irresponsible approach towards the process of Geneva, they are showing that they are immature, politically speaking, because we have been here in Geneva only for 48 hours. They have not yet engaged in any serious discussions before deciding unilaterally to freeze their participation [in the talks]," Jaafari said.

"The masters of the group of Riyadh are the ones who instructed them to take such an irresponsible and provocative decision [to suspend their participation in the talks]. The proof is that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia will arrive this evening to Geneva to conduct a direct monitoring of the group of Riyadh performance," Jaafari said.

"It only proves that these people are not independent, they are not representing an independent Syrian opposition, but rather a group of people working for the Saudi and Turkish agenda," he said.