Syrian FM Refuses to Deal With US-Backed Opposition Group
Walid Moallem, Syria’s minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, says he will not deal with the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, possibly complicating plans for Geneva II in November.
![SYRIA-CRISIS/CHEMICAL Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem (R) meets U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane in Damascus, in this handout photo distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 25, 2013. Syria has agreed to allow U.N. inspectors access to sites in suburbs of Damascus where alleged chemical attacks occurred, the Syria Foreign Ministry said in a statement broadcast on state television. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)
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NEW YORK — Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid Moallem told Al-Monitor that his government will not deal with the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) headed by Ahmad al-Jarba as the sole representative of Syrian oppositions forces, because the SNC has “no representation within Syria,” and it squandered its credibility by supporting a US military strike on Syria.
UN Security Council Resolution 2118, passed unanimously on Sept. 27, implements a program for the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons and endorses the Geneva process for a political solution in Syria’s civil war.