Defiant Syrian Envoy Blames West, Saudis and UN as Peace Talks End

Syrian government negotiator Bashar al-Ja'afari accused Western countries and Saudi Arabia of sabotage and blackmail.

Reuters

Updated:December 14, 2017, 8:52 PM IST

Defiant Syrian Envoy Blames West, Saudis and UN as Peace Talks End

Syria's UN ambassador and chief negotiator Bashar al-Ja'afari arrives for a meeting with United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura during the Intra Syria talks in Geneva, on December 1, 2017. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Geneva: Syrian government negotiator Bashar al-Ja'afari accused Western countries and Saudi Arabia of sabotage and blackmail at the end of a round of UN-led peace talks in Geneva on Thursday, and said Damascus did not want to see the political process fail.

"Nobody can exert pressure on us," Ja'afari told reporters after a session with U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura, who he said had made an error by commenting in an interview on Russia's influence, which could "derail his mandate".

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