Syrian rebels cast doubt on Monday over whether they would attend Russian-backed talks in Kazakhstan this week, accusing Moscow of failing to get the
Damascus government to fully comply with a ceasefire agreement
or to implement goodwill gestures such as a prisoner release.
The Kazakh government said on Saturday it had invited Syrian government and rebel delegations to a meeting on Feb. 15-16. The sides attended a similar, indirect meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana last month.
Mohammad Al Aboud, a senior rebel official, said the delegation would not attend. "There were violations in the cease-fire and the Russians did not live up to their promises to halt these violations," Al Aboud told Reuters.
A second rebel official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at most a handful of rebels might attend, but only if progress was seen in the next two days. "The (whole) delegation will not go," he said.