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Britain welcomes Syrian opposition group's participation in Geneva talks

Xinhua, January 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Saturday welcomed the Syrian Opposition High Negotiation Committee (HNC)'s participation in the peace talks taking place in Geneva.

According to earlier reports, the largest Syrian opposition group of 17 members on Saturday left for Geneva to participate in the UN-sponsored talks on the Syria crisis.

"I welcome the difficult decision that the Syrian High Negotiating Committee has made to attend peace talks hosted by the United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva," he said in a statement.

"The UK supports this process and calls for complete and unfettered humanitarian access across Syria, and an end to all violations of international humanitarian law, as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2254," the foreign secretary urged.

"The UK believes in a Syrian-led political settlement to the conflict and expects both sides to participate in good faith to finally provide the peace the Syrian people deserve," he added.

On Friday, the HNC decided to participate in the talks after receiving assurances from the UN and the United States, despite its announcement to boycott the talks.

The first round of talks is expected to end before Feb. 11, the date for the Geneva summit to evaluate the progress of the talks.

UN-brokered Syria peace talks, originally scheduled for Jan. 25, began at Geneva's Palais de Nations on Friday. Endit