BEIRUT: An important section of the Syrian opposition has to decide Wednesday on whether to participate in the Geneva peace talks, which could be compromised by the presence of other opponents of the regime, including the Kurds.
The office of UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said it had issued invitations to the talks, scheduled to begin on Friday, but refused to say who had been invited to represent President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition.
It is the latest international attempt to end Syria's conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
The talks have already been delayed from their scheduled start on Monday over who will represent the opposition.
The High Negotiations Committee, a body representing key opposition groups and factions, insists it should be the sole opposition delegation.
But several opposition figures who do not belong to the body told AFP on Tuesday they had been invited to the talks.
The HNC met in Riyadh to debate whether it would attend, with a source close to the meeting confirming the body had received invitations to Geneva, but discussion on whether to participate was ongoing.
"The response will be a request for clarifications and not an acceptance or rejection," he told AFP, adding that the body wanted to know who else had been invited and under what terms, as well as what would be discussed.
HNC member Salem al-Meslet said the group would resume talks from 10:00 am (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, adding that the "climate is positive".
The HNC will also "ask tomorrow for clarifications (from the UN) concerning some issues, particularly humanitarian issues", he said.
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