Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other European and Middle Eastern ministers, as well as top diplomats from regional rivals Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, were in NY for the meetings.
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Western diplomats say that Iran will have to move further towards Russia’s position and fully abandon Assad if there is to be a viable diplomatic solution that ends the war in Syria.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, sitting as President of the Council, said that through the resolution, the world body is sending a “clear message to all concerned that the time is now to stop the killing in Syria and lay the groundwork for a government that the long-suffering people of that battered land can support”.
“The truth is that nothing would do more to bolster the fight against the terrorists than a broadly supported diplomatic process that gives the Syrian people a real choice – not a choice between President Bashar Assad or Daesh, but between war and peace, between the violent extremes and a newly empowered political center”, Kerry said.
Under a deal struck last month in Vienna, government and rebel negotiators would have six months to form a transitional government and 18 months to organize national elections.
In a rare show of unity, america & Russian Federation on Thurs. led 13 nations to unanimous approval of a United Nations plan to choke off revenue sources for the militant group Islamic State, together with oil, cotton & antiquities which are smuggled out of Syria to thriving black markets.
But several questions still hang over the process.
Jordan’s foreign minister presented a draft list of “terrorist” groups that the ISSG parties will agree to exclude from the talks.
Similarly, it remains a tall order for Syrian rebels and their foreign backers to countenance talks with an Assad government that has slaughtered thousands of its own citizens with barrel bombs and poison gas.
“I reiterate the readiness of the Syrian government to participate effectively on any honest effort where the Syrians will determine their choices through dialogue under Syrian leadership and not foreign intervention”, he said, adding that all countries should coordinate with his government.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told The Associated Press there “seems to be no agreement” on two key issues. “The opposition should be serious, and it should be inclusive”.
One key issue that lies ahead is deciding which groups in Syria should be part of an opposition negotiating team and which should be considered terrorist organizations instead.
The Geneva Communique called for political transition in Syria and Tehran never formally embraced it because of the implication that it could mean the end of Assad.
“What we have said is that we don’t believe that Assad himself has the ability to lead the future Syria”, he said.
The U.S. may have greater luck if peace between Syria’s government and mainstream rebel groups holds.
The resolution itself does not touch on this vital issue. Diplomats will then hope to travel the short distance to the U.N.to seek approval of the Security Council for the process.
And, on the eve of the United Nations talks, Assad warned in an interview with Dutch television that misguided efforts to bring about regime change would make the conflict “drag on”.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin suggested there were significant disagreements among the five powers.
“I’m not sure it’s going to happen because there are some unfortunately deliberate, or not deliberate, attempts to undercut the Vienna documents, and we don’t want to see that”, he told reporters without elaborating.
Where once it shunned Russian Federation and imposed sanctions on its economy to punish Putin for his aggression against Ukraine, now Kerry publicly thanks Moscow for its “constructive” role in Syria.
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Assad turned sarcastic when asked whether he was comforted that Washington’s stance on his departure had seemingly softened.
