Syrian Regime Rejects 'Direct Talks' in Geneva

Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo
Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo
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Syrian Regime Rejects 'Direct Talks' in Geneva

Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo
Spokesman for the Syrian opposition Yahya Aridi speaks to the media ahead of peace talks in Astana on January 22, 2017. Sergei Grits/AP Photo

Head of the Syrian regime delegation Bashar al-Jaafari arrived in Geneva on Wednesday to attend the new round of intra-Syrian talks - under pressure from Russia - but he informed UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura that he refused to hold direct talks with the High Negotiation Committee delegation, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Jaafari also presented to de Mistura a number of conditions to resuming any talks between the two sides.

The head of the Syrian regime delegation said that the regime refuses to engage in any direct talks with the opposition delegation and that the HNC must drop its demand that Bashar Assad leaves during the transitional phase in Syria.

The opposition delegation “wants more pressure on the regime to engage in the negotiation and continue in the negotiation to reach a political solution in six months, as (UN Security Council Resolution) 2254 says,” Reuters quoted Head of the HNC Nasr Hariri as saying.

“Just speaking about a political transition without any advancement, we will lose our trust in the process and our people will lose their trust in us and in the process itself,” he added.

The Syrian opposition delegation in Geneva said things were “positive,” now that the opposition is united.

Yahya Aridi, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Commission told Asharq Al-Awsat that the regime was currently left with no other choice than to accept the political operation and to get seriously involved in it, adding that Damascus “is totally convinced that the military and security solutions it followed, have proved to be a big failure.”

Meanwhile, Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya accused the US-led coalition of trying to partition Syria by setting up local governing bodies in areas seized from ISIS.

Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council Wednesday, Nebenzya complained that the coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters that recently liberated Raqqa from ISIS was discussing setting up governing bodies and restoring the economy without the involvement of Russia's ally, the Syrian regime.



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills 8 Near Aid Centers, 4 Others

19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills 8 Near Aid Centers, 4 Others

19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 12 people on Saturday, including eight who had gathered near aid distribution sites in the Palestinian territory suffering severe food shortages.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a separate incident, Bassal said five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations.

The Israeli army told AFP it was "looking into" both incidents, which according to the civil defense agency occurred near distribution centers run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Its operations began at the end of May when Israel eased a total aid blockade that lasted more than two months but have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Saturday that 450 people had been killed and 3,466 others injured while seeking aid in near-daily incidents since late May.

The Israeli blockade imposed in early March amid an impasse in truce negotiations had produced famine-like conditions across Gaza, according to rights groups.

Israel's military has pressed its operations across Gaza more than 20 months since an unprecedented Hamas attack triggered the devastating war, and even as attention has shifted to the war with Iran since June 13.

Bassal told AFP that three people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City in the north, and one more in another strike on the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces also demolished more than 10 houses in Gaza City "by detonating them with explosives", he added.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.

Earlier this week, the UN's World Health Organization warned that Gaza's health system was at a "breaking point", pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running.

The Hamas attack in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.