Russian Federation has slammed a statement by the foreign-backed Syrian opposition calling on President Bashar al-Assad to quit, saying only the Syrian nation should decide the fate of the president.
Advertisement
The agreement by a wide range of Syrian opposition leaders to appoint a joint negotiating committee has been hailed as an “important step” in the peace process by Philip Hammond.
“Opposition, for everyone in this world, doesn’t mean militant”.
An array of Syrian opposition groups agreed in Riyadh on Thursday to form a new and more inclusive body to guide the diverse and divided opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in a new round of planned talks aimed at ending the Syrian civil war.
He urged delegates to prove wrong those who argue that the Syrian opposition is too fragmented to present a unified front at future peace talks.
The rise of the Islamic State and the waves of Syrian refugees arriving in Europe have accelerated worldwide efforts to end the war, and a new round of global peace talks were proposed at an worldwide meeting last month in Vienna.
But in an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, Mr Assad said he would not hold political talks with any armed groups, and accused Washington and its ally Saudi Arabia of wanting “terrorist groups” to join negotiations.
“They want the Syrian government to negotiate with the terrorists, something I don’t think anyone would accept in any country”, Assad added.
“In principle we are ready for dialogue… and in order for the dialogue to be successful you have deal with real national opposition that has a popular base in Syria”, Assad said.
The stakes were high for the Riyadh meeting, during which the disparate and often competing opposition factions were held to a tight deadline to agree on the outlines of a political solution to the crisis and choose representatives for the talks.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said he would visit Saudi Arabia, a strong supporter of the anti-Assad rebels, soon.
For Karim Bitar of the Institute for global and Strategic Affairs, “the apparent split in Ahrar al-Sham is a first sign that things could go wrong”.
“There are some questions and obviously a couple of, in our judgement, kinks to be worked out and I’m confident they’re going to be worked out”, said John Kerry, US Secretary of State.
Advertisement
But sources inside the talks and Western diplomats said Ahrar al-Sham subsequently signed on to the opposition agreement, although this could not immediately be confirmed.
