UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to hold talks with senior diplomats in the Swiss city of Geneva in an effort to prepare for the forthcoming peace conference on Syria.Brahimi will meet with Russias deputy foreign ministers Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman on Tuesday.
The meeting will later include representatives of Britain, China and France, the three other permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The meetings are aimed at preparing for the Geneva 2 peace conference to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
The UN-Arab League envoy has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition as part of a Middle East tour to muster support for the long-awaited Geneva meeting scheduled to be held in November.
On Monday, Syria Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said that Damascus will not participate in the conference if the aim is for President Assad to relinquish power.
"We will not go to Geneva to hand over power as desired by (Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud) al-Faisal and certain opponents abroad," he said.
Russia and the US proposed the conference on May 7.However, Syrias increasingly divided opposition has so far balked at attending the event.
The so-called Syria National Coalition (SNC) says it will not take part in the proposed meeting if President Assads resignation is not on the table. The group is expected to meet on November 9 to decide whether to take part in the talks.
On October 27, over 20 foreign-backed Takfiri groups operating inside Syria rejected the planned Geneva 2 conference.
By Press TV
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