Syrian Opposition Rejects Offer to Negotiate with Hizbullah
The Syrian opposition rejected a proposal by former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford for the rebels to negotiate with Hizbullah and other factions fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's troops as part of a political solution to the civil war.
In remarks published Thursday, the spokesman of the Syrian National Coalition, Louay Safi, said: “We only negotiate with the Syrians and we won't accept the participation of foreign militias that kill the Syrian people in the political solution.”
The opposition won't surrender to the status-quo after three years of struggle, he said.
Ford, who stepped down on Friday, has recently said that the negotiations to resolve the civil war should include armed groups, including Hizbullah, which has sent its fighters to Syria in support of Assad.
Ford left the Syrian capital in 2011, when the popular uprising against Assad turned into a bloody civil war.
The United States has closed its embassy in Damascus but has not cut off diplomatic ties with Syria, despite repeated condemnation of the Assad regime.
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