US presses Syrian opposition to attend Geneva conference without preconditions

The Syrian opposition should participate in the peace talks scheduled to begin on Friday in Geneva "without preconditions," the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.

At a press briefing, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called on Syrian opposition to seize "a historic opportunity" to go to Geneva and propose practical ways to implement a cease-fire, humanitarian access and other confidence-building measures.

"We believe it should seize this opportunity to test the regime's willingness and intentions and expose before the entire world which parties are serious about a potential peaceful political transition in Syria and which are not," Toner said.

Syrian opposition groups ended their meetings in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday without reaching a final decision over whether they would participate in Syrian peace talks in Geneva. They said that they would continue to wait for the UN response of their demands.

The opposition groups released on Tuesday a statement demanding genuine improvements on the ground before starting the negotiations.

Toner emphasized that the U.S. takes Syrian opposition's call for humanitarian access and a cease-fire seriously.

"Our only point here is that the Syrian people are looking to this process, and they need signs of hope that they're not destined to live in conflict indefinitely," Toner added.

Source: MENA