Syrian President Bashar Assad has two choices, “either to leave through negotiations” or be forcibly removed from power, the Saudi foreign minister said on Thursday, arguing that the Syrian people would not accept any other outcomes.
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Opponents of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Thursday to bring together political and armed factions in a single body in preparation for possible peace talks with his government, an opposition member said.
“These are representatives of all the opposition factions, political and military, and they are going to be the decision makers in terms of the political settlement”, said Akbik.
“Some of the terrorist groups linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) are involved in the talks…these terrorist groups will not be allowed to decide Syria’s future”, said Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Fars news agency reported. “So we made progress but we’ve some tough problems to get over”.
Although Western leaders have recently said Assad can stay on as part of a transition for an unspecified time, SNC and other participants at the Riyadh meeting insisted he cannot be part of a transitional government.
Ahrar al-Sham says it is also withdrawing because some of its comments and recommendations have been disregarded.
The opposition groups in Riyadh also called on the United Nations and worldwide community “to force the Syrian regime to implement goodwill measures before the negotiation process begins”. “It’s not locked in yet, but the meeting in Saudi Arabia appears to be very constructive at this point, and we need to wait for the results of that conference”, Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations climate summit in Paris.
Before the talks got under way in Riyadh on Wednesday Ahrar al-Sham, one of the largest Islamist rebel groups on the ground in Syria, had criticised their Saudi hosts for inviting delegates seen to be too close to Assad. “I think everybody is moving in the direction that they want to rapidly get to a political process”, he said.
In a statement posted on social media, the group objected to the “main role” given to the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB), an internal political opposition group.
Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of Sunni opposition blocs pushing for Assad’s ouster throughout the almost five year old Syria conflict.
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But groups that include hardline Islamists, such as the Saudi-backed Jaish Al-Islam (Army of Islam) which sent to two delegates, are taking part.
