DHAKA: The decision by Syrian opposition parties to boycott the Geneva-2 international conference on Syria will not change determination by the Syrian government to attend the conference.

Syrian ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad spoke about this to the agency Interfax in Moscow on Tuesday, reports The Voice of Russia.

He also said he suspected a foreign hand behind the opposition’s boycott.

The ambassador accused ‘several foreign powers’ of trying to derail the Geneva conference.

He called attention to the fact that his government’s decision to attend Geneva-2 coincided with a sharp rise in terrorist activity in Syria.

In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadin network earlier this month, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said the right conditions for holding Geneva-2 were yet to be brought about.

Many observers took this as a hint that Damascus, too, might turn its back to the Geneva conference.

BDST: 2005 HRS, OCT 29, 2013
RoR/GCP