27/11/2013 10:29
Syria peace talks 'will not stop FSA rebels'
The leader of the Western-backed rebel Free Syrian Army has said that forces aligned to him will not join the peace conference in Geneva in January, the BBC reported.
Gen Salim Idris, head of the FSA's Supreme Military Council, told al-Jazeera that they would continue to try to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
He warned Mr Assad would use the talks to buy time and continue to wage war.
Iran, which is closely allied to the Syrian government, said it would attend if it was invited.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country would make an "important contribution to the resolution of the problem."
The UN, US and Russia have been trying for several months to persuade the Syrian government and opposition to attend the peace talks, the first in the 32-month conflict.
On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that an international conference to discuss a political solution, known as "Geneva II", would be convened on 22 January.
"The conflict in Syria has raged for too long. It would be unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction it has caused," he warned.
But in his interview with al-Jazeera on Tuesday, Gen Idris said: "Conditions are not suitable for running the Geneva II talks at the given date and we, as a military and revolutionary force, will not participate."
"We will not stop combat at all during the Geneva conference or after it, and what concerns us is getting needed weapons for our fighters."
Gen Idris said any opposition delegation would have to include "influential and significant figures from inside Syrian territory", and that any agreement would have to meet several conditions.