22 January 2017•Update: 23 January 2017
By Mohamed Misto, Ali Abo Rezeg
ASTANA, Kazakhstan
The Syrian opposition spokesman said the delegation was heading to the Astana talks, aimed at putting an end to the six-year conflict in Syria, for the bloodshed and brutality to cease.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Yahya al-Aridi addressed the preparations for Monday's talks in the Kazakh capital.
“We had a meeting with the Turkish side [...] and the discussions were quite fruitful about the goal of Astana meeting,” he said.
A cease-fire deal was initially brokered by Turkey and Russia and the Astana meeting comes as part of ongoing efforts by both countries to find a political solution to conflict.
“We are here to put an end to the bloodshed and to the brutality being perpetrated by the regime and Iran in Syria,” he said.
“The other side -- Syrian regime -- is here to get some sort of submission, the thing that side would not get anyway,” he added.
“There are two basic issues that need to be discussed. First: the cease-fire creating a truce that covers all over Syria, particularly the certain areas that are still being bombarded by the regime and Iranian militias,” he explained.
“Another thing is the human dimension, in accordance with the UN security council resolution [..], concerning the lifting of the siege on particular areas and the processes of ethnic cleansing that are being exercised by the regime,” said Al-Aridi
“Finalizing these two dimensions could lead to a certain statement or a certain powerful paper that could be taken as preparing the route for the final settlement, political one, which is in accordance with the Geneva communique of 2012 which talks about full political transition,” he said.
“We are not here to just be with those who are killing the Syrian people,” he specified.
“Now, if the 30th of December agreement [the cease-fire deal] is confirmed, guaranteed, and if the areas that are still being bombarded by the regime and Iran all covered, at that point we can say that something is achieved,” he indicated.
Al-Aridi also discussed Russia's expected role in the talks.
“Having achieved all this military success, Russia now wants to just get the political gains of these military efforts,” he said. “Russia finds that creating something at the political level would pave the way for it to crown itself with success.”
“The sides that are quite keen on making it succeed are the ones who are suffering most from the Russian bombardment, from the Assad regime and Iranian military brutality in Syria,” he added.
Representatives from the Syrian government and the opposition delegation arrived Sunday in the Kazakh capital of Astana for Monday's meeting.
