US piles pressure on Syrian opposition

Syria's leading opposition coalition is to decide today whether to attend peace talks in Geneva, following a tense meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, a member told AFP yesterday.

The member of the so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said Kerry applied "pressure" during a weekend meeting in Saudi Arabia, warning the opposition risked "losing friends" if they failed to attend the talks.

Fuad Aliko said the Committee would meet today to make a final decision on whether to attend the Geneva talks. The Saturday meeting with Kerry was "neither comfortable, nor positive", said Aliko, a member of the Committee's designated delegation for the talks.

Kerry told the Committee's chief Riad Hijab that they risked "losing friends", Aliko said. "This talk means a halt to political and military support to the opposition," he added.

Syria's warring parties were scheduled to begin the latest round of talks aimed at ending the country's conflict yesterday in Geneva.

But they have been delayed at least in part by a dispute over who will represent the opposition.

Salim al-Muslat, a spokesman for HNC, accused Russia and the Syrian government of throwing obstacles in the path of talks that were originally due to begin in Geneva yesterday.

The HNC has repeatedly said talks cannot begin until air strikes are halted, government sieges of rebel held territory are lifted and detainees freed, steps outlined in a Dec 18 UN Security Council resolution, reports Reuters.

"We want to realise pure humanitarian matters. They are not preconditions. It is an international resolution at least part of which must be implemented, so we see there is seriousness and good will in this matter," al-Muslat said on Saudi-owned Arabic news channel Arabiya al-Hadath.