Syrian opposition prepares for Geneva talks with Turkish officials in Ankara

Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ümit Yalçın met political and military representatives of the Syrian opposition on Feb. 3 in Ankara to prepare for a meeting in Geneva on Feb. 20, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Riad Hijab, the general coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee, President of the Syrian National Council Enes el Abde, representatives of opposition military groups participating in the Astana talks, the Syrian Kurdish National Council and Syrian Turkmen representatives are expected to attend the preparations. Some Druze and Alawite religious scholars will also attend the meeting. 

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has asked the opposition to assemble its list of participants as soon as possible.

Russia, Turkey and Iran are expected to discuss the current cease-fire in Syria and monitor its implementation, the modalities of the truce monitoring system and observe enforcement measures in a meeting in Astana on Feb. 6.

The latest round of Syria peace talks, organized by Iran, Russia and Turkey, was held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on Jan. 24.

The talks had ended with a joint statement from Russia, Turkey and Iran about the consequences of the talks and agreed on a trilateral mechanism to support the fragile cease-fire. They had not stated how much of the cease-fire could be maintained. 

Several media outlets affiliated to Syrian opposition groups have reported that the head of the opposition's delegation in Astana, Mohammed Alloush, was misrepresented and smeared by Russia. 

Alloush has reportedly denied claims that armed rebel groups had agreed to cooperate with Syrian regime forces and its ally forces in fighting Jabhat al...