PHOTO: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, November 15, 2015 at a conference on Syria
The US and Russia have said that Syria’s opposition-regime talks should begin on January 25 in Geneva without preconditions, following a telephone conversation between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
While President Assad has said that any political resolution can only follow a complete defeat of “terrorism”, the regime has said that it is willing to enter discussions. The opposition-rebel negotiating team has said that talks can only follow the release of detainees from regime prisons, ceasefires including a halt to Russian and regime aerial attacks, and access to humanitarian aid.
The prospect of discussions has been further challenged by Russian insistence, supporting Damascus, that prominent rebel factions such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam must be labeled as “terrorist”, ruling them out of any negotiations.
An attempt at an international conference in mid-December to establish an agreed list of terrorist groups foundered when the Jordanian Foreign Minister presented a draft which also included Assad allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Qods Force.
And even as it said there should be no preconditions, Moscow reiterated on Thursday that President Assad’s stay in power should not be part of the talks. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said:
Assad’s fate has not been discussed….and this made it possible for countries to make huge progress.
We understand perfectly well and hear from our colleagues that Assad’s fate continues to worry them. We believe that this is an issue that should be resolved by the Syrian people.
The opposition-rebel bloc has maintained that Assad must step down during a political transition.
State Department spokesman John Kirby also said on Thursday that Kerry had urged Russia to “use its influence” to persuade the Assad regime to permit aid deliveries to besieged opposition-held areas.
Kirby said that Kerry and Lavrov will meet in Zurich on January 20 to assess the situation.
