The official spokesman for the supreme negotiating body for the Syrian opposition Riad Nassan Agha revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the US Secretary of State John Kerry did not put forward a third list of participants in the Geneva 3 negotiations when he met members of the body in Riyadh on Saturday.

Agha said that “what we understood from Kerry is that the Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has appointed advisers from civil society and this is a matter that will probably be a means of pleasing all parties”. This means that Russia has successfully pressed for the involvement of a third delegation that would consist of “advisers” in the negotiations.

On the other hand, the President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Khaled Khoja that Kerry’s talks with the body was nothing new and pointed out that it was just “a message formed by the Iranians and Russians”.

Khoja added that the body assured Kerry that there are four conditions to create the conditions needed to start the negotiation process or a peaceful political solution and without them, there is no room for any negotiation.

The chief negotiator of the Syrian opposition delegation Mohammed Alloush said yesterday that he is under pressure from the US Secretary of State John Kerry to attend the planned peace talks in Geneva this week to negotiate the demands of the opposition. Alloush said that there would be a strong response to the American pressure but did not give any further details.