Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the new president of the so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC) is hindering attempts to hold the proposed Geneva talks, which aim to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.\n<\/p>\n
Ahmad Assi Jarba, the new SNC leader, said on July 7 that the foreign-backed opposition group would not attend the conference – planned by the United States and Russia – unless the militants make military advances on the ground first.\n<\/p>\n
Referring to the argument by hawkish Jarba, Lavrov said on Wednesday, \u00c5\u201cIf you follow this logic, we will never manage to convene any conference.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u00c5\u201cOur Western partners took responsibility for getting the opposition to attend the Geneva conference without preconditions,\u201d the Russian foreign minister said.<\/p>\n
Lavrov was speaking at a news conference after a meeting with the foreign minister of Belarus.\n<\/p>\n
On May 7, Russia and the United States agreed in Moscow to convene a conference on Syria, which is planned to serve as a follow-up to an earlier Geneva meeting held in June 2012.\n<\/p>\n
On July 6, the foreign-backed Syria opposition elected the Saudi-linked member, Jarba, as its new president during its latest meeting in the Turkish city of Istanbul.\n<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Russian foreign minister said on Wednesday that Moscow has confirmed the use of chemical weapons by Takfiri militants operating inside Syria.\n<\/p>\n
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