Bashar Ja’afari, head of Syria’s government team in Geneva (Source: Xinhua/VNA) |
The statement ended the eighth round of the UN-led talks after days of indirect meetings with no progress. Ja’afari slammed the Syrian opposition for its so-called Riyadh communique, issued in Saudi Arabia before the latest round of Syrian talks got underway in Geneva. The communique stated that the opposition’s ultimate goal is to see Assad step down at the start of a political transition. Ja’afari described the statement as “blackmail of the Geneva process” and said “those who drew up the Riyadh communique are the ones who sabotaged this round” of talks.
