And top rebel Haitham al-Maleh, of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, refused any compromise over Mr Assad. Until the US and its allies adjust their position, peace in Syria will remain elusive.
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President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the Russian air force had already struck a few targets in Syria identified by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a fact he said disproved allegations Moscow was bombing the moderate opposition. In addition to the humanitarian disaster the conflict has caused, the administration thinks the continuation of the war undercuts its higher priority of defeating the Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq. We just don’t know. The official was one of several who spoke on the condition of anonymity about internal administration discussions.
“It has to be part of the final deal that the end point will not have Assad in power”. In 2011, the Turks and Qataris bet on Assad following the fate of Mubarak, Ben Ali and Qaddafi, and sought to be on the “right side of history”.
A resolution will “require deep breaths from all sides”, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said this week in Washington, suggesting significant compromise on the terrorism label is necessary.
Separately, United Nations officials working on possibilities for a cease-fire will present proposals to the group.
At the time, the “hard-line Islamic jihadists” were mostly with Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Al-Nusra (the Nusra Front), which still terrorizes parts of Syria.
The US and Europe, as well as Syria’s regional opponents such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have made Mr. Assad’s exit a condition to peace talks.
– Forming a constitutional commission “to embrace the entire spectrum of the Syrian society, including domestic and outside opposition”, with the chair agreed by all participants. Cooperation, he said, could be established through a formal agreement on the list of organizations that are to be regarded as terrorist. “The Saudis are never going to sign off on Ahrar al-Sham being categorized as terrorists”. I don’t know the authenticity of this video, and I don’t know the authenticity of these sources.
The USA, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have trained and equipped rebel groups fighting regime forces which control swathes of territory across north-eastern and southern Syria.
He said that if the Russians successfully pushed ahead with this idea at the next round of Vienna talks and managed to convince other countries, it would be a disaster.
Government troops on Tuesday broke a siege imposed by the Islamic State group on the northern military air base of Kweiras since 2013, marking the first major achievement by Assad’s forces since Russian Federation began its airstrikes on September 30.
Russian Federation accused the United States on Thursday of hijacking preparatory talks for a weekend meeting of almost 20 nations focused on ending the Syrian war.
Unquestionably, the regime’s resilience is partially due to its brutality, but it is imperative to note that Assad has a wide network of support in Syria from groups who share common fears of the takfiris’ agenda.
The paper outlines a proposal to end Syria’s conflict that envisages drafting a new constitution within 18 months, which would then be put to a popular referendum and that vote, in turn, would be followed by an early presidential election.
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In the run-up to Saturday’s meeting, European and U.S. diplomats, fresh off a two-year negotiation over Iran’s nuclear program, have warned that there isn’t a quick solution to the Syrian conflict.
