Opposition negotiators demand talks with Syrian regime be postponed

Syrian opposition negotiators on Monday called for direct talks with the Syrian regime to be postponed until Syrian and Russian airstrikes against the opposition are halted.

"Negotiations can't start while the regime and the Russians are bombing the Syrian people," said Riyad Hijab, the coordinator of the opposition's Supreme Negotiations Committee from Paris on Monday.

Hijab's comments came after a delegation from the committee held talks with French President Francois Hollande and foreign minister Laurent Fabius on Monday about the upcoming direct talks with the regime scheduled for 25 January as per the Vienna plan.

The committee that was formed on the back of the Syrian opposition conference in Riyadh in December is charged with initiating direct talks with the Assad regime with the aim of forming a new political system in Syria.

On Monday, at least 15 civilians including school children were killed in a Russian airstrike on the village of Ain Jara in Aleppo province.

"A Russian plane fired guided missiles at a residential neighbourhood in Ain Jara, killing 15 civilians including eight children," activist Alaa al-Halabi told The New Arab.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported in late December that Russian air strikes had killed more than 2,300 people since they began on September 30, among them 792 civilians.

Meanwhile, President Hollande reiterated his country's position that "there is no room for Assad in the future of Syria," while foreign minister Fabius stressed that regime and Russian airstrikes on the opposition need to stop.

The Syrian conflict, which started after a brutal regime crackdown on peaceful protests in 2011, has resulted in the death of more than 250,000 Syrians and the displacement of millions.