Former president of the Syrian opposition National Coalition believes that direct negotiations between the Syrian regime and the opposition is the only way to "save the warring parties" from further losses, according to Al Arabiya Wednesday.
Al Arabiya reported that the former opposition coalition president Moaz Al Khatib told Global Arab Network in an interview published Wednesday that "political action might be a longer path, but it is much less costly, and I believe that direct negotiation will solve many political problems."
“We as Arabs are negatively influenced by literature, as one of our slogans is: we are people that don’t accept mid solutions…so either we will triumph or die. This mentality is manifested in the savage acts of the regime, and in the stubbornness of the opposition, while the people are paying the price. Breaking down the problems will contribute to resolving the most difficult conflicts, and the step-by-step approach might be the best for a real solution,” he added.
The Syrian opposition and regime previously met in Geneva this year in what was an initial attempt to start a negotiation process to end the three-year conflict, but the talks ended in stalemate after the warring sides failed to agree on any type of roadmap that moves to end the conflict.
Khatib blamed foreign powers in part for the failed talks.
“Some countries are settling their conflicts with other countries over our land, and they are trying to fuel the conflict so it serves their own interests; these countries aren’t interested in the success of any negotiation process,” he said.
Over 162,000 people have been killed thus far in Syria's ongoing three-year civil war and millions have been displaced from their homes.
