Syrian rebels to attend peace talks

Syria’s main opposition group said it would attend peace talks on Monday but accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of preparing to escalate the war.

The UN-brokered talks, which coincide with the fifth anniversary of the conflict, will take place in Geneva two weeks after the start of a ceasefire agreement which has reduced violence although not halted the fighting.

The High Negotiations Committee said it would attend as part of its “commitment to international efforts to stop the spilling of Syrian blood and find a political solution”.

But in its statement it played down any chance of reaching an agreement with the Syrian government to end the war that has killed more than 250,000 people and led to a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe.

Russia said it expected its ally Syria to attend, although Damascus has yet to publicly confirm it will do so.

The Syrian foreign minister is expected to announce his government’s position on the talks today.

Peace talks convened two years ago collapsed because the sides were unable to agree an agenda: Damascus wanted a focus on fighting terrorism, the term it uses for the rebellion, while the opposition wanted to discuss a transitional government.