Syrian Armed Opposition Should Take Part in Talks if 'Begins Fighting Daesh'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, representatives of the 14 groups of the Syrian armed opposition, who took part in the two-day intra-Syrian talks in Astana under the leadership of Jaysh al-Islam's Mohammed Alloush, confirmed their commitment to the nationwide ceasefire agreement and expressed intention to forge a joint opposition delegation ahead of Geneva talks.

"We support an idea of a round table. It should include the governmental delegation and other opposition groups and platforms, including the armed  opposition, if it starts implementing the Astana agreement and begin to fight against Daesh and al-Nusra [Front]. But all parties to the Syrian conflict, including the civil society, should participate in talks," Ahmad, who is also a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), told Sputnik.

The Syrian peace talks, brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran, were held in Astana on Monday and Tuesday, bringing the Syrian government and opposition groups face-to-face for the first time since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011. The list of the opposition groups that participated in the talks includes Jaysh al-Islam, Faylak al-Sham, Jaish al-Mujahideen, Jabhat al-Shamiya, Fastaqim and Suvar al-Sham, among others. However, such terrorist groups as Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra Front did not participate in the talks.

The Astana negotiations will be followed by a UN-mediated meeting in Geneva expected to take place on February 8.

The nationwide ceasefire in Syria backed by Russia and Turkey came into effect on December 30 and was later supported by a UN Security Council resolution. Russia and Turkey are monitoring and registering violations of the truce on a daily basis.