Syria: Talks Failed to Form United Front Against ‘Terrorism’

Syria’s foreign minister says “important” points were made during international talks aimed at reviving the peace process but that negotiators failed to convince his government’s foes to curb their support for “terrorism.”
Syria: Talks Failed to Form United Front Against ‘Terrorism’
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem (R) meets with U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. Al-Moallem said "important" points were made during international talks aimed at reviving the peace process but that negotiators failed to convince his government's foes to curb their support for "terrorism." (SANA via AP)
The Associated Press
11/1/2015
Updated:
11/1/2015

BEIRUT—Syria’s foreign minister says “important” points were made during international talks aimed at reviving the peace process but that negotiators failed to convince his government’s foes to curb their support for “terrorism.”

Walid al-Moallem’s comments came after his meeting with U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura, who arrived in Damascus Sunday to brief him on the details of the international talks in Vienna.

The Vienna meeting, which ended Friday, brought together the United States Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which back the Syrian opposition, and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s two key allies, Iran and Russia.

Neither the Syrian government nor the opposition was directly represented at the talks.

Syria’s government refers to the entire armed opposition as “terrorists.”