ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A delegation representing the Syrian opposition arrived in Geneva on Saturday, saying it was there to test whether to enter peace talks with the Syrian regime and its Russian ally.
"We are going to Geneva to put to the test the seriousness of the international community in its promises to the Syrian people and to also test the seriousness of the regime in implementing its humanitarian obligations," one of the delegates, Riyad Naasan Agha, told Reuters.
"We want to show the world our seriousness in moving towards negotiations to find a political solution," he added.
He was joined in Geneva by the head of the Higher Negotiation Committee (HNC), Riad Hijab, and the chief negotiator for the delegation, Asaad al-Zoubi.
The HNC represents the various opposition groups brought together by Saudi Arabia in an effort to establish a bloc to negotiate an agreeable compromise to a conflict that is nearly five years old.
The opposition insists upon certain preconditions for talks to show that the other side is serious about negotiating.
Agha says the delegation isn't calling for a complete ceasefire as a precondition, but does want "the indiscriminate shelling of markets, hospitals and schools by the regime and its Russian backers," to be halted.
The UN envoy for Syria, Steffan di Mistura, had said that the priority for the first round of talks would be to conclude a cease-fire agreement to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
