“There is no way President Assad can unite and govern Syria“, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during the meeting, adding, “Syrians deserve a different choice”.
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Mr Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said they continued to disagree on the fate of Mr Assad.
Nevertheless, a commitment from Iran to a defined time limit for a transition could be viewed as a significant new undertaking, potentially forming a basis for future diplomacy at a time when Assad’s position has been strengthened by Russia’s decision to join the war on his side.
Twenty delegations took part in the talks – including, for the first time, Iran.
There was no agreement on the fate of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Mounting global concerns about the outpouring of Syrian refugees and the growing Jihadist threat could set the scene for a few kind of political compromise, experts say.
A video posted earlier on YouTube announced the offensive in southern Hasaka, and showed several dozen men in fatigues standing outdoors with yellow flags and banners carrying the name of the Democratic Forces of Syria in Arabic and Kurdish.
“We must merge the two coalitions into one”, Sarkozy said, referring to the rival US- and Russia-led military campaigns.
Previous efforts toward a diplomatic solution to a civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million people from their homes have collapsed over the insistence of the United States, European powers, Arab states and Turkey that Assad agree to leave power.
Antony Blinken, the USA deputy secretary of state who spoke Saturday at the worldwide Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, said the US government believes it’s only a matter of time before Moscow realizes that its military intervention and its ardent support for Assad’s continued rule are mistakes, after which the Russian government could support a political process that includes replacing Assad.
“We are ready to interact with patriotic opposition in any format, also within a joint information center in Baghdad … all patriotic forces in Syria should act as a united front”, he said.
On Friday, the United States disclosed plans to station its first ground troops in Syria for the war against Islamic State.
Even bitter foes Iran and Saudi Arabia will be sitting at one table along with their powerful partners, Russian Federation and the United States.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said as he arrived for the talks: “This meeting is very timely because it is the first time since the start of the Syrian conflict that all the major players are gathering”.
Assad and Iran accuse Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies of being behind terrorism in Syria through their backing of rebel groups.
Lavrov said that stake holders initiated a political process to find a solution for ending the crisis in Syria, but there is still difference over the future of al-Assad.
Next meeting on Syria is to be held within thenext ten to fifteen days, the Italian foreign minister said.
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As the participants met, at least 89 people, including 17 children, were killed on Friday in attacks on opposition strongholds in the north and outside Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has been more outspoken than the U.S.in labeling the talks as a test of Shiite Iran’s seriousness to seek peace.
