CAIRO
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi on Thursday received Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Jarba in Cairo, where the two discussed preparations for next week's round of Geneva II peace talks, according to Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Bin Hilli.
"The last round of talks did not yield any positive results in terms of reducing the violence or pushing forward a political solution to the crisis," Bin Hilli told a Thursday press conference convened after the meeting.
Al-Arabi and Jarba had originally been scheduled to hold a joint press conference following Thursday's meeting, but this was canceled with no reason given.
The first round of the Geneva II talks, which are aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in violence-wracked Syria, kicked off in Switzerland on January 22. They wrapped up last Friday without reaching a deal.
According to Bin Hilli, talks between al-Arabi and Jarba also tackled the Syrian opposition delegation's upcoming visit to Moscow, a main ally of the Syrian regime, scheduled for next week.
Bin Hilli said the two men had also discussed items on the agenda of the upcoming Arab League Summit – to be held in Kuwait in March – that pertain to the Syria crisis.
Jarba's current visit to Cairo, his second in as many months, was not announced in advance by the Syrian opposition alliance.
Syria has been in the throes of conflict since 2011 when a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad escalated into civil war following a violent government crackdown.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 136,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011.
By Khaled Abdel-Aziz
englishnews@aa.com.tr
