SNC divided on Geneva talks on Syria

The foreign-backed ‘Syrian National Coalition’ (SNC) has failed to reach a consensus on whether to participate in an international conference on the crisis in Syria that is expected to take place in Geneva in June.

SNC official Khaled Saleh said on Saturday in Istanbul “We are exchanging opinions, we are yet to make a decision.”
The SNC has been holding meetings in the Turkish city since May 23 to work out its stance about the Geneva conference.
Russia said on Friday that the Syrian government had agreed to attend the event.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich stated “We note with satisfaction that we have received an agreement in principle from Damascus to attend the international conference, in the interest of Syrians themselves finding a political path to resolve the conflict, which is ruinous for the nation and region.”
Russia and the United States reached an agreement in Moscow on May 7 to convene an international conference on Syria, which would serve as a follow-up to an earlier Geneva meeting held in June 2012.
Some reports say the meeting will be held on June 10, but Lukashevich said such reports “cannot be taken seriously” since the ranks of the Syrian opposition groups remain so divided.