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

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".