WORLD - U.N. says Syria regime, opposition SNC reps won't meet as hoped in Switzerland

The U.N. said a face-to-face encounter between Syria's government and the Western-backed opposition hoping to overthrow it was not going to happen Friday as planned, as President Bashar Assad's representatives threatened to walk away from the meetings on Saturday if progress isn't made.

Low expectations for Syria peace summit

 Friday was intended to be the first time since the uprising against Bashar Assad began that the two sides would sit down for direct negotiations -- peace talks that have been on the verge of falling apart since they were first floated in 2012. U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi was meeting Friday morning with representatives of Assad’s government and was to meet later in the afternoon with a delegation from the Syrian National Coalition, said Alessandra Vellucci, a U.N. spokeswoman. She did not rule out direct talks at a later time.
However, CBS News' George Baghdadi reported that in his meeting with Brahimi, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem warned the "Syrian delegation is going to leave Geneva tomorrow if there was no seriousness in the talks."
Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban blamed the opposition for the breakdown, saying her delegation was willing to negotiate.
A delegate from the opposition said Friday they would not meet with the government delegation, led by Muallem, until it endorses the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012, which was meant to be the premise for the current meetings in Switzerland. The communique calls for a transitional governing body to be established.
"We have asked the U.N. envoy for the regime to sign on to Geneva 1 and we will not meet them until they do so," the opposition delegate told Reuters.
The implementation of a plan that would see Assad step down from power -- including to hand executive powers over to a transitional government -- has remained the key divide between the sides since the initial meetings in Geneva almost two years ago, and the remarks made Friday made it clear the gap was yet far from bridged.
Arabic television channels Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera quoted Syrian Information Minister Umran al-Zoubi as saying Damascus would never agree to the formation of a transitional government.
Baghdadi reported that Vice-Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad had told reporters the Syrian government was "ready to discuss a ceasefire, but those who are thinking of any prospects of discussing President Assad's removal are dreaming