Syrian government ready for peace talks

The Syrian government announced on Saturday that it was willing to meet opposition groups for peace talks in Russia in an effort to find a path out of the civil conflict that has engulfed the nation for nearly four years.

"Syria is ready to participate in a preliminary and consultative meeting in Moscow to respond to aspirations of Syrians who are trying to find a solution to the crisis," an official from the Foreign Ministry told the SANA state news agency.

"The Syrian Arab Republic has always been ready for dialogue with those who believe in its unity, sovereignty and freedom of choice," the official added.

Members of the Western-back opposition bloc, however, have shown themselves to be less enthusiastic. The Turkey-based opposition group National Coalition said that Moscow had no clear plan or purpose. Hadi Bahra, head of the National Coalition, said that Russia was calling for "just a meeting, with no specific agenda."

Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government. Moscow has supplied the Syrian military with arms throughout the war that has claimed 200,000 lives and spiraled into a multi-sided conflict, with Assad's government fighting moderate rebels as well as "Islamic State" (IS) jihadists. IS now controls considerable portions of the Arab republic.

The Kremlin said they planned to host members of the opposition in late January, followed by representatives from Assad's regime before hopefully bringing the two parties together. Assad has stated that he backs the effort from his longtime supporters.

es/shs (AFP, Reuters, dpa)