Syrian opposition says regime refuses to discuss transition

Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) leader Nasr al-Hariri, right, attends a round of negotiation with UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura. (Keystone via AP)

GENEVA: Syria’s opposition said on Friday that the “terrorist regime” of President Bashar Assad had refused to discuss political transition during a round of UN-led talks, reiterating that he was a war criminal who must step down in the name of peace.
“They are solely discussing their empty rhetoric about countering terrorism, although they attracted terrorism to region, they used all kinds of weapons, and they used siege and chemical weapons agianst the people,” chief opposition negotiator Nasr Al-Hariri told reporters.
Hariri was speaking after meeting UN envoy Staffan de Mistura for the last time during an eight-day round of UN-mediated talks in Geneva.