The Syrian opposition on February 12 called for a transitional governing body to be set up that would oversee a total ceasefire under U.N. monitoring and be empowered to drive out foreign fighters deployed on both sides of the civil war. The classified paper was presented to international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and a Syrian government delegation at a joint session held at peace talks in Geneva.
The Syrian government delegation to peace talks in Geneva said that negotiations must focus first on fighting terrorism before any other issue was discussed, state media reported. Syria TV said the delegation also rejected parallel-track talks that would allow a simultaneous discussion of the opposition’s priority of a transitional government, calling the proposal a “fruitless” idea.