Syria peace talks: US should take some ‘responsibility’

The in-coming US administration should take some responsibility to help broker the political peace process in Syria which is being sponsored by Russia and Turkey, a member of the negotiating team of the Syrian opposition has told BBC Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur.

“Iran has been the key spoiler,” said Bassma Kodmani, “sectarian militias on the ground are our key problem today in Syria.

"They are fuelling jihadis on the opposition side, so what we need as a priority is a coalition of countries, and the Trump administration should be a part of that, to push out those sectarian militias who are poisoning the ground in Syria."

“We cannot get rid of Sunni jihadis, whether it is Daesh, al-Nusra, all of these radical groups if we have this poisonous presence of Shia militias on the side of the regime, so this is where Iran needs to come to terms with what needs to happen on the ground in order for Syria to see a peaceful settlement," she added.

Watch the full interview on BBC World News and BBC News Channel on Thursday 5 January 2017 and BBC iPlayer (UK only).