The UN Security Council threw its unanimous support Friday behind a plan to end Syria’s brutal civil war by summoning rebels and the regime to the negotiating table.
Advertisement
Members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which other than Russian Federation and China includes the opposing “Friends of Syria” group, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, agreed that all countries would stop funding groups that some ISSG parties deem as terrorist if a ceasefire agreement is reached, US Secretary of State John Kerry said at a Friday UN press conference.
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad attended Christmas choir preparations in an ancient church close to a frontline area in the capital Damascus where his army is engaged in heavy fighting with rebels, state media said yesterday.
Lavrov said that the most important success of the meeting is activating “Vienna document” through adopting the resolution and authorizing de Mistura full to start the work and call for holding meetings between the Syrian Government and Various opposition groups.
“This will be the first time there’s been a Security Council resolution on Syria and on political transition in Syria during five years of civil war”.
Kerry reiterated that there is no military solution to the crisis in Syria and the political solution is the only choice, affirming that only the Syrian people have the right to determine the future of their country.
Both Russia and Iran have insisted Assad should only step down if he is voted out in an eventual election, but while maintaining its backing for Assad in public, Russia has recently made clear to Western nations that it has no objection to Assad stepping down as part of a peace process, diplomats said.
Turning to Nigeria developments and the reaching of Islamic Awakening to this West African country Velayati asserted that “the Awakening in Nigeria goes back to 200 years ago, and Mr. Zakzaky is only a recent phenomenon and indefatigable warrior in the Shia cause, which had won the hearts of many people in Nigeria”, he added. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius asked, referring to Assad.
More than 250,000 people have died since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions more have fled their homes.
The plan also calls for a cease-fire, but there is disagreement over which armed factions – besides the Islamic State (IS) group and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front -should be branded “terrorists” and consequently excluded from any talks or truce.
Meanwhile, Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, warned that earlier worldwide hopes for a ceasefire by January 1 were unrealistic.
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”.
Advertisement
“I was packing my luggage”.
