Syrian Opposition to Negotiate under 'One Delegation but Different Visions'

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, on March 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes)
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, on March 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes)
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Syrian Opposition to Negotiate under 'One Delegation but Different Visions'

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, on March 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes)
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, on March 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes)

UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura announced on Thursday delaying next week’s intra-Syrian talks in Geneva to next fall, calling on Russia and Iran to use their powers for convincing the Syrian regime to attend.

"Regarding the (Syrian) government, we are counting very much on Russia, on Iran, on anyone who has got major influence, and on the government of Syria to be ready finally to initiate when they are invited to Geneva, a genuine, direct negotiation with whatever (opposition) platform comes out,” he said.

De Mistura also hoped that the Syrian crisis could witness significant changes starting next month.

The delay announced on Thursday came as the Syrian opposition heads towards forming a single delegation with different visions to attend a meeting scheduled next Sunday in Riyadh ahead of holding the “Riyadh 2” conference in October. 

The delegation would include members of the High Negotiation Committee (HNC) and the two platforms of Moscow and Cairo.

The Cairo platform already announced it would participate in Sunday’s meeting.

Meanwhile, leader of the Moscow platform Qadri Jamil told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that the opposition group would also attend the meeting and that it sent its response to the HNC on Thursday.

Member of the Cairo Platform Jamal Suleiman told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Riyadh conference aims at restarting talks between the three platforms and would mainly focus on unifying the opposition and on discussing the government, the constitution, elections and a common understanding of international resolutions, ahead of reaching positive outcomes.

Sources warned Moscow on Thursday from trying to circumvent the Geneva talks and enforce new decisions, such as forming a new expanded government in Syria.

Although sources from the opposition Syrian National Coalition saw the possible dispatch of one delegation to the meeting, they said this decision does not mean that the Syrian opposition would also have a unified position vis-à-vis the events in Syria, particularly the fate of Bashar Assad.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Thursday the US military will remain in northern Syria long after the militants are defeated, predicting enduring ties with the Kurdish-dominated region.

"They have a strategy policy for decades to come. There will be military, economic and political agreements in the long term between the leadership of the northern areas (of Syria) ... and the US administration," SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.