The chief peace negotiator of Syria's mainstream opposition has resigned over the failure of the UN backed Geneva peace talks to bring a political settlement and to ease the plight of Syrians living in besieged rebel-held areas, he said.
Mohammed Alloush, who is also the representative of the powerful Jaish al Islam rebel faction in the Saudi-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said in a statement that the peace talks had also failed to secure the release of thousands of detainees or to push Syria towards a political transition without President Bashar al Assad.
The UN-backed parties have not set a date for the resumption of the peace talks after the HNC suspended their participation until the situation on the ground has radically changed.
Mr Alloush also said that without any of the opposition demands met, peace talks were a "waste of time", adding that he did not expect peace talks to resume so long as the Syrian government remained intransigent and not ready to enter "serious negotiations".
The Syrian government does not recognise the right of the HNC to speak on behalf of the opposition and insists they were tools of foreign powers seeking to topple Mr Assad and brand Mr Alloush himself as a "terrorist".
The resignation was accepted in a meeting in the Saudi-capital Riyadh headed by HNC's chief coordinator Riad Hijab that sought to assess the peace negotiations.
