Syrian government delegation arrived in Geneva: Russian FM spox
A delegation from the Syrian government has arrived in Geneva and is ready for talks with opposition groups, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
"We have a clear understanding and reliable information that the Syrian government delegation has arrived in Geneva. It is ready for talks. It is in close contact with UN officials and with experts who are also there," Zakharova said at a press briefing this morning.
Russia stopped over 100 citizens traveling to Syria in 2015: NAC
Russia's intelligence services prevented over a hundred Russian nationals from traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside militant groups, a spokesman for the National Anti-terrorism Committee, Andrey Przhezdomsky has said.
Przhezdomsky said that Russia has brought criminal cases against 832 people who have joined the IS group including against 22 recruiters and that more than 80 of these have already been convicted.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also commented this morning on the situation in Libya including regarding the expansion of the IS group:
What looks like cellphone footage claiming to show the aftermath of this morning's shooting at a Shi'ite mosque in Saudi Arabia has been posted on Twitter.
More video, photos of attack on Shi'ite mosque in Saudi Arabia
The @Ahrar_TV Twitter account has published photos and a video claiming to show the attack and its aftermath on a Shi'ite mosque in Saudi Arabia this morning.
The account says that the attacker detonated a bomb after opening fire on the congregation, but this is not confirmed.
The attack targeted the Shi'ite mosque during Friday prayers when it was full. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet but the IS group is a likely suspect.
From our news desk:
Opposition Boycott Threatens To Derail Syrian Peace Talks
The absence of key opposition groups is threatening to derail the long-anticipated start of Syrian peace talks in Geneva on January 29.
A coalition of opposition groups backed by Saudi Arabia said it would not attend the negotiations until an agreement is reached with the Syrian government on providing aid to besieged towns.
Also missing from the talks were representatives of Syria's Kurdish population, which has control over much of the country's north. The Kurds were not invited because another key participant, Turkey, insists their representatives are linked to an outlawed Kurdish party in Turkey.
The U.S. State Department on January 28 pleaded with the Saudi-backed coalition, known as the High Negotiations Committee, to join the talks despite seeing no progress on bringing aid to besieged and starving Syrians.
"These demands, while legitimate, shouldn't keep the talks from moving forward," said department spokesman Mark Toner. "This is really an historic opportunity for them to go to Geneva to propose serious, practical ways to implement a cease-fire and other confidence-building measures."
The United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, who organized the talks, made a last-minute plea directly to Syrians in a video, urging them to support the talks as what he portrayed as a last chance for peace that "cannot fail."
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Syrian government to start peace talks today: Reuters
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura will meet a Syrian government delegation in Geneva today to start the first peace talks for over two years, his office has said.
"Mr. de Mistura will start by meeting the government’s delegation today, headed by the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations, Mr. Bashar Jaafari.
"He will continue meetings with other participants in the talks and with representatives of the civil society subsequently," it said. "As indicated by Mr. de Mistura in his press conference on 25 January, these will be proximity talks, meaning that the parties will be meeting with him separately."
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has weighed in on the shaky start to the Syria peace talks with this comment:
Moscow never said it fully approves of Assad's policies: Foreign Ministry
As the Syria peace talks kick off in Geneva without the Syrian opposition, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova has come out with a rather confusing statement: she says Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that Damascus made mistakes and has never said that Damascus should fight the opposition.
Let's look at what Zakharova actually said:
"We never said that...we are completely against the Syrian opposition. This does not appear anywhere. We never said that even if the internal political life of Syria is completely dismantled, that we would totally support the policies of Assad, that we would recognize [Assad's policies] as completely correct. We never said that," Zakharova said.
Zakharova said Moscow had recognized that there were "mistakes, mistaken actions taken by Damascus" but did not say which actions Moscow considered to be mistakes.
"We never said that all of the opposition that opposes Damascus are terrorists, that you need to fight against them," Zakharova added.
Ahrar al-Sham, Islam Army are terrorists, can't be at Syria talks: Russian FM
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that groups like Ahrar al-Sham and the Islam Army (Jaish al-Islam) are terrorist groups and should not be involved in Syria peace talks.
"Our principled position is that including organizations that are terrorist groups is unacceptable. We will not shift from this," Zakharova said in response to a question about Moscow's position on the inclusion of Ahrar al-Sham and the Islam Army in the Geneva talks.
"It is time to ask how the other representatives of the international community, who consider themselves to be fighting against terrorism, consider the inclusion of terrorist groups," Zakharova added.