Syrian chief negotiator and the country's ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja'afari speaks to the media after a round of negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. ( AP)
The head of the Syrian government's delegation on Wednesday accused the opposition of wanting to withdraw from peace talks under pressure from regional powers, and the United Nations of suspending the talks until Feb. 25 to avoid such a walk-out.
Bashar Ja'afari, Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, who leads the Damascus delegation, told reporters in Geneva: "We knew few hours ago the Riyadh (opposition) wanted to withdraw from the talks and that's why Mr. De Mistura's announcement came as a political coverage of the decision to withdraw.
"We consider that the style used by the Special Envoy to justify the withdrawal of Riyadh delegation under instructions from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey was not subjective. It didn't say the truth as it was," he said, speaking before going into talks with UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura.
Short link: