Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Muallem- Photo: AFT/SANA

(VOVworld)- The Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Muallem on Sunday claimed to have rejected direct talks with the US during the Geneva conference. Syria's foreign minister was referring to the opening remarks of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech made in Montreux, Switzerland on January 22, who said that President Bashar Assad lost all legitimacy and cannot be a part of any transitional government. Walid Muallem rebuffed him at the time, saying no outside force had the right to “withdraw legitimacy” from the president or government except for the people of the country. The US officials were quick to deny claims by Syria's foreign minister that US diplomats were seeking direct negotiation with the Syrian delegation. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at no point did the United States offer to negotiate directly with the Syrian regime, though clarifying that the US indeed offered to connect with Syrian officials “on a staff level” through the United Nations and Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi. So far, the 3-year long civil war in Syria killed more than 136,000 people.