Syrian Opposition May Gather in Moscow for Preliminary Consultations

© RIA Novosti . Alexander Natruskin / Go to the mediabankAbbas Habib (R), a coordinator for the Council of Syrian Tribes
Abbas Habib (R), a coordinator for the Council of Syrian Tribes - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The Syrian opposition may gather in Moscow for preliminary consultations that would precede a reconciliation conference in Damascus, said Abbas Habib, a coordinator for the Council of Syrian Tribes.

MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) – The Syrian opposition may gather in Moscow for preliminary consultations that would precede a reconciliation conference in Damascus, said Abbas Habib, a coordinator for the Council of Syrian Tribes.

“Our task is to gather all [Syrian] sides at the negotiating table. During Monday’s meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry, [Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail] Bogdanov suggested organizing such a preliminary conference, a meeting in Russia, an inter-Syrian conference that will later be moved to Damascus,” Habib said, adding that Syrian tribal representatives “agreed to this idea.”

“This preliminary meeting, to be later followed by a wider conference in Syria, may take place in Moscow… We hope that such a meeting is round the corner,” the official said.

Since March 2011, an armed conflict has been taking place in Syria that has claimed the lives of more than 170,000 people, according to UN data. Government troops are confronted by militias belonging to different armed groups. The most active are Islamic State (IS) militants, who led an assault on the northern and western regions of Iraq in early June, and announced the creation of an "Islamic caliphate" in Iraq and Syria on June 29.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала