Syria’s main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) leader Nasr al-Hariri (C) poses ahead of a meeting of Intra Syria peace talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, on March 01, 2017.

The Head of the delegation of the Syrian Opposition to Geneva 4, Nasr al-Hariri , stressed at a news conference after meeting with the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in Geneva on Wednesday that the opposition has not been in any direct negotiations with the Syrian regime.

“We have heard from Mr. Stefan that because of the Russian pressure – which could be a good sign –there is a general acceptance in addressing the issues raised in the 2254 decision. Obviously, we are interested in achieving a political transition because it is the only way to accomplish the other issues in this decision.”

He added that the regime’s delegation is prioritizing other points in order to avoid dealing with the political matters directly; furthermore, the regime will resort to violence on the fronts to spoil the talks.