Assad regime is prepared to meet in Geneva for peace talks

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that the Assad regime is prepared to meet in Geneva for peace talks to resolve the country’s civil war. Those talks are set to begin at the end of January. "Syria is ready to participate in the Syrian-Syrian Dialogue in Geneva without any foreign interference," Muallem said, noting the regime is currently waiting on the “list of the opposition delegation.” "We hope that this dialogue will be successful to help us in having a national unity government.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in an interview that the Russian air campaign will continue if the peace talks reach a ceasefire agreement. Such a ceasefire would be "meant to happen between parties of the Syrian domestic conflict," but "this doesn't mean an end to war on [the Islamic State] and other terrorist groups,” he told Russia’s Interfax news agency. Russia’s air campaign has mostly targeted Syrian rebel groups, not the Islamic State, and has resulted in severe and indiscriminate civilian casualties that could amount to war crimes, according to a new report by Amnesty International. Russian officials said today that one of three militants killed in a shootout in the North Caucasus on Tuesday had traveled to Syria for “terrorist training.”