20/01/2014 17:13
France closes its airspace for Syrian Geneva-2 delegation – media
France has threatened to turn its sky into a no-fly zone for the Syrian administration's delegation that is expected to sit down at the negotiating table in the Swiss town of Montreux, local media say, according to the Voice of Russia.
AFP has cited a source in the Syrian foreign ministry as saying Monday the French have vowed not to let the board with the official Syrian delegation pass over its territory tomorrow, a move which the Assad administration has condemned as an attempt to torpedo the Geneva-2 conference on Syrian peace at all costs.
The long-overdue international talks on Syria are to open in Switzerland on January 22. They are expected to bring together both parties to the conflict for the first time since the war broke out in Syria three years ago.
Taking part in the conference are official delegates of the Syrian regime and representatives of Syria's main opposition group, which has been widely endorsed by some Western and Persian Gulf countries.
Opposition activists say their prime goal at the negotiations will be to push for a transitional government that has "no place for Assad," while the Assad administration has stressed more than once they are not going to hand over the reins to anyone and will primarily seek help from international mediators in their fight against terrorism on the Syrian soil.