Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has accused Syria's main opposition group, the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC), of taking peace talks "hostage" by refusing to include terrorism on the agenda of the Geneva talks. Bashar al-Ja’afari noted that the HNC’s refusal to discuss the issue of terrorism in the peace talks “did not come as a surprise” as some of the group’s members are terrorist armed outfits.

A political analyst and former American intelligence linguist believes that the Saudi support of the HNC is a “complete anomaly,” adding that Riyadh, the United States, Turkey and Israel have been behind the terrorism plaguing Syria.

“So I think what we are seeing here is what we have seen in every single Geneva peace talk. This is yet again another delay for the people that have been conspiring to overthrow [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad to regroup, rearm and retrain… and it looks like unfortunately they have convinced the United States to continue down this path,” Scott Rickard told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

He also highlighted the fact that the US has been playing very “unfairly” and “surreptitiously” since the Syrian conflict began six years ago.

The analyst went on to say that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has become Washington's new “partner in crime” in Syria.

He further maintained that toppling the Syrian government has been Washington's long-term objective and for it to change “the American mentality would have to change across the board.”

However, he predicted that there will be no changes under the administration of Donald Trump “unless there is a revolution or some sort of massive change in the political infrastructure in the United States.”