The Syria peace talks in Geneva have struggled to continue into a second day. On Tuesday, the Syrian government rejected the opposition's preconditions for official negotiation.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, was scheduled to meet with the main opposition High Negotiations Committee delegation for the second time on Tuesday afternoon. But the meeting was cancelled after the Syrian government rejected the HNC's precondition for a ceasefire. The government delegation had met with de Mistura earlier Tuesday.
The delegation chief says they are still at a preparatory stage, without knowing the name list of the opposition delegation and who they will be negotiating with.
"We are (attending the meeting) in accordance to the call from the Special Envoy, but the opposition are treating the talks in an uNPRofessional and undiplomatic manner. We have been emphasizing that this round of talks should take place according to UN Resolution 2254. It will be a dialogue between Syrians, which should be decided by Syrians themselves. No pre-conditions for the talks will be accepted. No outside interference should be allowed, either," Syrian ambassadoer to UN Bashar AL-Jaafari said.