Kerry seeks to ‘accelerate everything’ on efforts for Syrian peace talks
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Version 0 of 1. ABU DHABI — With the attacks in Paris and threats in Brussels adding urgency to bids for Syrian peace talks, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Monday that he wants to speed up efforts to move the conflict from the battlefield to the negotiating table. Kerry told reporters, after meeting with officials from the United Arab Emirates, that he is urging Middle East leaders to act faster in getting opposition and rebel groups together with the Damascus government. Persian Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are strong backers of Syrian rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Assad is supported by Russia and Iran, whose leaders met Monday in Tehran. “The goal is to accelerate everything,” Kerry said after talks with senior UAE officials on the campaign against the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh. “Everything helps move everything else. If we can get a cease-fire, if we can get a political process, that greatly facilitates what we can then talk to Russians and others about, in terms of coordination to go after Daesh.” [World powers seek January start for Syria talks] Kerry has been pushing hard to get a cease-fire in place before the end of the year and negotiations started in January. The hopes are to get talks moving toward a political transition in Syria that eventually would unseat Assad. Then, all military efforts can be trained on defeating the Islamic State in its Syrian strongholds. The strategy was agreed to earlier this month in Vienna during meetings attended by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. “We are working very hard to accelerate the efforts out of Vienna, to give that diplomatic process life,” Kerry told reporters traveling with him. But Russia and Iran have made clear that they will resist moves perceived as attempts to undermine their influence if Assad steps aside. “No one outside of Syria can and should impose on its people some forms of government and who personally must govern it,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said during talks in Tehran. “This should only be decided by the Syrian people.” In Abu Dhabi, Kerry met with Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s military chief, and Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the foreign minister. [Britain’s Cameron seeks to broaden attacks on Islamic State] The talks took place in Mina Palace, a compound next to the Persian Gulf where peacocks, doves and pelicans strutted on manicured lawns around sunken gardens with fountains and palms. Later, Kerry met with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir. Three working groups emerged from the Vienna talks, with different but complementary tasks — to determine which groups would still be targeted after a cease-fire, which groups would be invited to negotiate and how to deliver humanitarian aid. One sticking point is whether a hard-line Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham, should be invited to talks or targeted for strikes. Ahrar al-Sham is supported by the Saudis and Qataris, but it has been known to fight alongside militants opposed to Assad. Kerry said he had discussed the group in his talks on Monday and suggested that the United States could be willing to have the group be part of a possible resolution for Syria’s civil war. But he said it was too soon to make a determination. Kerry said much will depend on whether Ahrar al-Sham decides to be “part of the political process, they’re willing to observe a cease-fire and put down their weapons and so forth.” [Poll: Clinton most trusted in fight against terrorism] Although critics have accused the Obama administration of lacking a clear strategy to defeat the Islamic State, Kerry has repeatedly insisted that strides have been made since a 65-nation coalition led by the United States coalesced last year. “There is a very clear focus by everybody, there is a united front, and I am absolutely convinced that Daesh will be defeated and there will be increased steps taken in order to do so,” he said in an interview from Abu Dhabi on Monday with the “Today” show. “What we need to do is not succumb to fear,” he added. “People need to not panic. There is a strategy in place growing by the day, and I have no doubt whatsoever that with the help of all the nations that are united against Daesh, they are going to be defeated, and we’re going to do everything in our power to hasten that journey.” On Tuesday, Kerry plans talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Kerry’s arrival in Israel coincides with the burial of Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year-old from Massachusetts who was killed by a Palestinian in a drive-by shooting last week, part of a two-month-long wave of violence in the region. “This is an effort to see if we can get some concrete steps in place, begin to build them, maybe, that could calm things down a little bit so people aren’t living in absolutely daily terror that they might be stabbed or driven into or shot trying to walk around their city,” said Kerry, a former senator from Massachusetts. “But this street violence doesn’t provide any leader with the framework within which they could look their people in the eye and say, ‘There’s a reason we’re sitting down and talking.’ People aren’t in the mood for concessions,” Kerry said. “They’re in the mood for being tough and stopping it.” Andrew Roth in Moscow contributed to this report. |