Syria’s opposition delegation arrives in Geneva

Syria’s opposition delegation has threatened to pull out of United Nation’s-sponsored peace talks in Geneva if what it called the Assad’s crimes persisted, Al Jazeera’s corespondent in Geneva said  

Representatives of the delegation, known as the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), landed in the Swiss capital late on Saturday, a day after a delegation representing the Assad regime arrived and held preliminary talks with the UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Speaking to Al Jazeera in Geneva late on Saturday, HNC spokesman Salem al-Meslet said: "We want the peace talks to work, but there is no seriousness on the part of the regime." 

Meslet, said that the HNC would discuss with de Mistura on Sunday its conditions for joining the negotiations, which include the Assad’s agreeing to lift sieges on opposition-held areas and stop shelling them, and agreeing to release prisoners.

"The priority is to lift the suffering of the Syrian people," he said. "If we see an implementation of these demands, including allowing trucks of aid into besieged areas, we will consider this as a sign of good will".

HNC coordinator Riad Hijab, who did not travel to Geneva, said in an Arabic statement posted online that "if the regime insists on continuing to commit these crimes then the HNC delegation’s presence in Geneva will not be justified." 

"The delegation will inform de Mistura of its intentions to withdraw its negotiating team if the UN and world powers are unable to stop these violations," Hijab wrote.

Monzer Makhous, a member of the Syrian opposition delegation, said: "We are here to test the intentions of the regime ... We do not have assurances, we have promises".