PHOTO: A torn poster of Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, December 2012

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Russia has tried again to block other countries from setting a date for the departure of Syria’s President Assad.

Amid uncertainty over the status of a third international conference to discuss a political transition, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Italian media on Wednesday:

[Our] partners link the full mobilization of the anti-terrorist potential with Bashar Assad’s resignation….

They no longer demand his disappearance in an instant, they permit his participation in the transitional political process, but they wish to see some deadline, a date when Assad will stop performing his powers.

The Russian president has responded to these ideas more than once. We believe that this kind of approach is artificial and in conflict with international law and the rules of democracy.

In two international conferences in Vienna in October and November, the US, European powers, and Saudi Arabia proposed a time limit of one year on Assad’s stay during an 18-month transition. However, Russia and Iran were able to prevent any reference to Assad’s future in the nine-point proposal issued after the second meeting on November 14.

Iran is insisting that President Assad must be allowed to stand in elections following ceasefires and a new Constitution. Russia has been more cautious about making such a demand.

A third conference for further development of the proposal was tentatively scheduled for mid-December; however, Russia has now objected to New York as the venue.

Islamic State Recaptures Town in Eastern Homs Province from Regime

The Islamic State have again threatened the Assad regime in eastern Homs Province, recapturing the town of Mahin.

ISIS moved back into Mahin on Friday. The militants occupied the town at the start of October, but withdrew about three weeks later under regime pressure, including Assyrian militia from northeast Syria who were airlifted by Russia into the area.

The Islamic State’s advance again threatens the mainly-Christian town of Saddad, 13 km (8 miles) to the southeast. A pro-regime Facebook page based in Saddad said that residents have asked for “heavy weaponry…to stand up to any attack”.

Deputy Chief of US Joint Chiefs of Staff: We Could Implement No-Fly Zone…But We Won’t

The vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has told a Congressional committee that the US military could implement a no-fly zone in northern Syria, but it will not do so.

Air Force General Paul Selva said on Wednesday:

If we’re asking the question, “Can we do it?”, the answer is “Yes”.

[But] are we willing to engage the potential of a direct conflict with the Syrian integrated air defense system or Syrian forces or, by corollary, a confrontation with the Russians, should they choose to contest the no-fly zone?

We have not recommended it because the political situation on the ground and the potential for miscalculation and loss of American life in the air in an attempt to defend the no-fly zone don’t warrant the no-fly zone.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain, responded:

General, I must say, that’s one of the most embarrassing statements I’ve heard from a uniformed military officer. That we are worried about Syria’s and Russia’s reaction to saving the lives of thousands and thousands of Syrians who are being barrel bombed and massacred. So far, 240,000 of them.”

Remarkable performance.

Rebels: We Will Remain in Homs District Despite Ceasefire Agreement

Rebels have said that they will remain in the last opposition-held district of Homs city despite a truce announced this week.

On Wednesday, about 700 fighters, their families, and wounded left the al-Wa’er neighborhood for Hama and Idlib Provinces. The Homs Provincial Governor said all rebels would give up their arms and the State would impose control by the “third stage” of the 75-day agreement.

However, a member of the rebel committee said on Wednesday, “This is the only batch of fighters and civilians who will leave the neighborhood according to the agreement.”

A spokesman for the pro-opposition Homs Media Center said of reports that all rebels would leave as the regime forces moved into al-Wa’er, “Damn it, that’s not true at all.”

The regime has been trying to take over the last opposition-held area, which has about 90,000 people, for more than 18 months following a spring 2014 agreement over other districts.

Opposition-Rebel Conference Calls for Democratic Syria, Assad Departure

The opposition-rebel meeting in Saudi Arabia has called for an all-inclusive, democratic Syria and the departure of President Assad at the start of a transitional period.

The 105 participants supported a “democratic mechanism through a pluralistic regime that represents all sectors of the Syrian people”. The democracy will include women and will not discriminate on religious, sectarian or ethnic grounds.

The conference also made a commitment to preserving Syria’s state institutions and restructuring the army and security services.

Confusion Over Whether Rebels of Ahrar al-Sham Reject Riyadh Conference Statement

There is confusion on Thursday afternoon over whether the rebel faction Ahrar al-Sham has rejected the final statement of the opposition-rebel Riyadh conference.

Pro-opposition journalists had claimed that the group had signed the final statement of the two-day negotiations despite concerns.

However, subsequent reports said Ahrar al-Sham was standing by its refusal to join the other opposition and rebel factions in the statement.

Earlier on Thursday, the group expressed its objection to the participation of the domestic group, the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, calling its “regime-made”. It cited a lack of “real” representation of rebel factions, with only 15 of the 105 delegates, and said the conference had not considered rebel amendments to the statement of principles, including an insistence on the Islamic identity of the Syrian people.

Assad Regime: We Are Holding Our Own Conference of Opposition Groups

With representatives of opposition and rebel groups in Saudi Arabia attempting to form a bloc for negotiations, the Assad regime declares that it is holding its own “opposition conference” at the Sheraton Hotel in Damascus.

According to State news agency SANA, the Secretary General of the People’s Party, Sheikh Nawaf Tarad Al-Melhim, said “conspiracies…have been targeting Syria for over five years…but are making the Syrians cling stronger to their national unity”.

Melhim denounced the Riyadh meeting of 105 delegates, which began on Tuesday, for “undermining Syria and achieving what could not be achieved through war”.

Other quotes from Damascus participants upheld “a political solution that realizes the aspirations of Syrians” and is “based on the principle of combating Takfiri terrorism and returning security and stability to Syria”.

The meeting reportedly agreed on sending a message to the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, putting forth names of nominees for a “political dialogue” with the regime.