Syria Will Attend Geneva Peace Talks
“We did not make a final decision yet on our participation in the Geneva conference, ” the coalition’s head, Ahmad al-Jarba, told reporters in Cairo on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. The group plans to decide during a meeting next month.
The opposition’s nominal political leadership, the Syrian National Coalition, has repeatedly said it will not attend peace talks that do not guarantee Mr. Assad’s ouster, and has at times called for other measures like prisoner releases and access for humanitarian aid as prerequisites.
“We will not stop fighting at all, either during the Geneva conference or after the Geneva conference,” General Idris said in an interview with Al Jazeera television. Instead, he called for more arms and ammunition, saying the rebels’ military might would “strengthen the negotiators who represent the opposition in Geneva.”
Gen. Salim Idris, the nominal head of the rebel Free Syrian Army, said on Tuesday that conditions were not right to hold the conference since it had not been made clear that it would result in Mr. Assad’s ouster.
It also remains unclear who will represent the opposition.
“Our people will not let anyone steal their exclusive right to decide their future and their leadership,” it said.
The statement, published by the state news agency, SANA, also struck out at Britain and France for saying that Mr. Assad has no role in Syria’s future.
The Assad government refers to the rebels fighting for its ouster as terrorists and has said in the past that it will not negotiate with those who have taken up arms against the state.
In the announcement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the official delegation to Geneva would be sent by Mr. Assad to serve the interests of the Syrian people and “getting rid of terrorism.”
The statement adds to the difficulties faced by international powers in trying to convene the talks, which are planned to open on Jan. 22 in Geneva. The negotiations are meant to lead to the creation of a transitional government with full executive powers to lead the country out of the crisis. But key issues, including who will attend and the role of Mr. Assad, have yet to be decided, and there is little sign that any of the warring parties are ready to compromise.BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian government announced on Wednesday that it will participate in talks scheduled for January to try to end the country’s civil war but added that its official delegation will attend with the blessing of President Bashar al-Assad and that it does not intend “to hand over power to anyone.”
nytimes