Egypt urges UN to guarantee fair representation of Syrian opposition at Geneva talks

Kerry told journalists talks may be postponed until they reach an agreement on Syrian opposition

Egypt urged the UN and the international community to guarantee a fair representation of the Syrian opposition at the Geneva talks on the Syrian civil war, scheduled to be held next week.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid emphasised the importance of holding the Geneva talks on time, as stipulated in the UN resolution number 2254.
He further urged UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura to make every effort to ensure the representation of all Syrian opposition groups and national factions that have influence, "to guarantee the application of any results".
He also urged him to start seeking a formula for better representation of the opposition as fast as possible, since "the crisis in Syria cannot wait [any longer]".
The UN previously said the talks over Syria cannot be held unless the US and Russia agree on the representation of the opposition, which will negotiate with the regime in an attempt to end the Syrian crisis.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told journalists at Davos that the talks may be postponed until they reach an agreement on the Syrian opposition, but that they would not be postponed for long.
"What will happen is, on Monday there will be some discussions (in Geneva), but I would say that by Tuesday and Wednesday, people will be able to get there," Kerry said.
The world powers, including the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran, have not yet come to an agreement over whom will represent the Syrian opposition. Russia and Iran have rejected that the US and Saudi Arabia are to form the opposition delegation.
Meanwhile, Syria has witnessed a severe humanitarian situation, with several besieged cities suffering from lack of nutrition for the past months. Last Monday, the UN Security Council discussed the crisis of the cities in Syria after several media outlets reported on tens of thousands of civilians who have been besieged for months.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Syria needs to work on a new constitution as a first step towards reaching a political agreement for its five-year civil war.
"Based on the new constitution, they must carry out new presidential and parliamentary elections in Syria," Putin said in his interview with German newspaper Bild. The tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to further complicate the talks over Syria.
Putin's troops in Syria are helping some of the moderate opposition against "Islamic State" (IS) in addition to supporting the regime. "You speak about Assad as an ally to us. Do you know that we support some of the opposition in its war against IS? We support their operations in several locations by our air force," he said.
Russia has been carrying out operations in Syria since September.