Kerry said recent statements from Syrian officials that they will make no concessions at the negotiating table and complaints from opposition figures that they are being forced into the talks reflect only “tensions” and “rumors”.
Advertisement
His remarks were carried by state media Sunday.
Syrian army troops have overrun rebel strongholds in the mountains of western Latakia province, according to government and opposition accounts on Sunday, marking the latest government gains before peace talks slated to begin this week in Geneva.
The Syrian opposition says Assad should have no role in Syria’s future, even during a transitional period.
Meanwhile in Syria, opposition activists said air raids on two villages in an eastern province killed at least 40 people and wounded scores more. Talks between the government of Bashar Assad and the opposition hit a roadblock in the last month after disagreements over which groups would be part of the opposition side.
Kerry said the United States has assured the six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council that “the United States, as we have said many times, will stand with them against any external threat and defend, if necessary, together with them against those threats”.
The resolution calls for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and the formation of a “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian” government within six months and UN-supervised “free and fair elections” within 18 months.
Tishrin was referring to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, who are strong backers of the opposition that is trying to remove Assad from power.
Citing a military source, state television said Syria’s “armed forces, in coordination with the popular defence (militia), seized control of the town of Rabia”. The group has threatened not to attend the talks if other opposition factions are invited.
Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross who is based in Damascus, said in an interview with the Washington Post that the humanitarian situation in Syria is deteriorating. “The Russians say (the Syrians) are going to go and they are going to negotiate”.
He rejected comments from the lead negotiator of the Syrian opposition, who said on Sunday it was coming under pressure from him to attend the talks.
Syria’s almost five-year civil war has killed more than 250,000 people, wounded a million and displaced half the country’s population.
As the war on the Islamic State group grinds on, USA forces are building an air base in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, AFP reported.
Advertisement
The future of the talks was in the hands of the Syrian parties, he added.
