Sponsors of Syrian opposition try to block Geneva conference

Foreign sponsors of Syrian opposition groups are trying to block the Geneva-II conference, a Russian lawmaker said Sunday. "Nineteen groups in the Syrian opposition, which is incapable of acting without outside support, rejected Geneva-II. It means their sponsors want it to fall through," Alexei Pushkov, head of the State Duma's foreign policy committee, said on his Twitter account. Late Saturday, leader of the Suqour al-Sham brigade Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh, a Syrian opposition group said in a joint statement that 19 Syrian opposition groups had refused to participate in the Geneva-II meeting scheduled for the end of November. Taking part in the international meeting on Syria will not be a choice of the Syrian people, and the Geneva-II conference would be "another conspiracy aimed at ending the revolution," said the statement. Those who take part in the conference will be seen as traitors and face punishment, according to the statement. On Tuesday, UN Under Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman said the United Nations was"working hard" to convene the Geneva-II meeting on Syria in Geneva next month. Russian and U.S. diplomats are set to meet in early November to discuss preparations of the international conference aimed at ending the conflict that has killed 100,000 people since March 2011. The Geneva-I conference was held on June 30, 2012 with the adoption of a communique, which sought to find a diplomatic resolution to Syria's prolonged conflict.