Syria’s main opposition group said Thursday it will not take part in proposed U.S.-Russia peace talks while key allies of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime are waging war alongside government forces.
“The National Coalition will not take part in any international conference or any such efforts so long as the militias of Iran and Hezbollah continue their invasion of Syria,” the opposition’s acting chief George Sabra told reporters in Istanbul.
It has taken the divided opposition meeting in Istanbul a week to find common ground on the so-called Geneva 2 peace conference proposed by Moscow and Washington.
The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) has previously said it was open in principle to any peace initiatives.
Sabra’s comments follow Syrian army advances in areas where the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah has joined troops loyal to Assad.
“In light of this savagery, any talk of an international conference or a political solution in Syria is just meaningless chatter,” he said.
His statement came hours after the Coalition launched an urgent appeal to rescue 1,000 wounded civilians from the town of Qusayr in central Syria.
WarSclerotic 
May 30, 2013 at 3:25 PM
JW — Do the collar styles sort of belie the spoken words? Indicating almost every one has a similar agenda? Aren’t they all merely arguing about the “how” of it?
May 31, 2013 at 3:00 AM
Memo to the rebels, terrorists and jihadis: join the peace talks or lose the war you started.
May 31, 2013 at 3:08 AM
LMAFO