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Kerry Says Syrian Opposition Still Undecided on Peace Conference Next Month
U.S. and 10 Other Nations Back Peace Talks, but Syrian Moderates Are Uncertain
(about 5 hours later)
LONDON — The United States and 10 Arab and European nations expressed support on Tuesday for the convening of a peace conference next month in Geneva to begin negotiations on a political settlement to end the bloody civil war in Syria. But Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged that the moderate Syrian opposition had not yet decided whether it would attend.
LONDON — The United States and 10 Arab and European nations expressed support on Tuesday for the convening of a peace conference next month in Geneva to begin negotiations on a political settlement to end the bloody civil war in Syria.
“They have to make up their mind,” Mr. Kerry said at a news conference in London. “And none of us are going to prejudge what they will do in that process.”
But Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged that the moderate Syrian opposition had not yet decided whether it would attend. “They have to make up their mind,” Mr. Kerry said at a news conference in London. “And none of us are going to prejudge or precondition what they will choose to do in that process.”
Ahmad al-Jarba, the president of the Syrian opposition coalition, and other rebel opposition leaders are to assemble next week and discuss whether to participate, Mr. Kerry said.
Ahmad Assi al-Jarba, the president of the Syrian opposition coalition, and other rebel opposition leaders are to assemble in a week or so to decide whether to participate.
The communiqué issued by the London 11, as the nations were known, addressed several themes important to the Syrian opposition.
The communiqué issued by the London 11, as the group of nations is known, endorsed several points that are important to the Syrian opposition, but also lacked important details.
It reiterated that a transitional government should be established as part of a political settlement and said that when it was formed President Bashar al-Assad and his close associates “with blood on their hands will have no role in Syria.”
It reiterated that a transitional government should be established as part of a political settlement, and said that when the transitional body was formed, President Bashar al-Assad and his close associates “with blood on their hands will have no role in Syria.” That approach is sharply at odds with the notion floated recently by Mr. Assad, who said in an interview that he was thinking about running for re-election in 2014.
That element of the communiqué alone could pose an enormous obstacle to a peace conference. President Assad asserted on Monday that he would not only serve out his term but is thinking about running for re-election in 2014.
The communiqué also called for stepping up support to the political and military wings of the moderate Syrian opposition, but did not specify what additional assistance was to be provided.
The communiqué also called for stepping up support to the political and military wings of the moderate Syrian opposition and for improving its ability to meet the needs of the Syrian population in the areas it controls.
Although it warned against “delaying tactics” and expressed hope that a transitional government would be established “within the coming months,” it set no firm deadline for creating such a government by “mutual consent” of opposition members and Syrian government representatives. The document outlined a series of “confidence-building measures,” like calling on the government to end its “siege of urban areas” and establishing “local cease-fires” to allow delivery of humanitarian aid to hungry, beleaguered civilians.
But the communiqué was notably lacking in some important specifics. It warned against “delaying tactics” and expressed hope that a transitional government would be established “within the coming months.” At the same time the communiqué set no firm deadline for creating the transitional government, which is to be established by “mutual consent” of members of the opposition and representatives of the Syrian government. Nor did it give details of what additional assistance is to be provided to the rebels.
But those measures will be listed as objectives for the Geneva “process,” not as prerequisites for the meeting next month.
The document outlined a serious of “confidence-building measures,” like calling on the government to end its “siege of urban areas” and establishing local cease-fires to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to hungry and beleaguered civilians.
The moderate opposition has been wary of being drawn into open-ended talks while the Assad government presses its attacks, fearing that would undermine its credibility with Syrians inside the country after more than two years of war.
But those measures will be listed as objectives for the Geneva “process” and not as prerequisites to the meeting next month.
The moderate political opposition, which operates mainly from exile in Turkey, has come under challenge. Last month, a number of rebel commanders signed a statement breaking with the opposition’s leadership and calling for rebel groups to unify “in a clear Islamic frame.”
The moderate opposition has been wary of being drawn into open-ended talks while the Assad government presses its attacks, fearing that such a move would undermine its credibility with Syrians inside the country after more than two years of war.
In a radio interview with the BBC before the meeting here, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, argued that it was important to strengthen the moderate opposition to counter inroads made by Islamic extremists.
Already, the moderate political opposition, which mainly operates from its exile in Turkey, has come under challenge. Last month, a number of rebel commanders signed a statement in which they broke with the opposition’s leadership and called for rebel groups to unify “in a clear Islamic frame.”
At the same time, fighters from the moderate opposition have also found themselves battling on two fronts as they struggle against the Assad government while also contending with extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a group affiliated with Al Qaeda.
In a radio interview with the BBC before the meeting here, William Hague, the British foreign secretary, argued that it was important to strengthen the moderate opposition to counter inroads made by Islamic extremists.
“The reason we have to make sure we are supporting and dealing with the moderate opposition committed to a democratic, pluralistic, nonsectarian future for Syria is precisely because if they don’t have a role, then all the Syrian people have got left is a choice between Assad and extremists,” Mr. Hague said.
“The reason we have to make sure we are supporting and dealing with the moderate opposition committed to a democratic, pluralistic, nonsectarian future for Syria is precisely because if they don’t have a role, then all the Syrian people have got left is a choice between Assad and extremists,” Mr. Hague said.
“Syrians on all sides now need to make the effort and make the compromises necessary for a peace process to work,” he said.
Setting a date for Geneva peace talks has been a recurrent problem. The United States, Russia and the United Nations first sought to organize the conference last May.
Mr. Kerry said Tuesday that he thought the moderate opposition leaders would ultimately decide to participate in the meeting.
On Tuesday, Martin Nesirky, a United Nations spokesman, said preparatory meetings would be held on Nov. 5 involving Russia, the United States and Lakhdar Brahimi, the special United Nations envoy for Syria, followed by a meeting that includes the other three permanent Security Council members — Britain, China and France.
“I believe that the conference can happen next month,” he said. “I am confident that in the end the opposition will decide that it is in their best interest.”
Mr. Kerry said Tuesday that he thought the moderate opposition leaders would decide to participate.
Mr. Kerry also acknowledged that there have been differences between the United States and Saudi Arabia on Syria.
“I believe the conference can happen next month,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has wanted the United States to do more to train and arm rebel fighters. And the Saudi leadership was hoping that President Obama would order a cruise missile attack on the Syrian military in response to what Western and Arab powers said was the Syrian government’s Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack near Damascus.
Efforts to advance peace talks came against a backdrop of worsening conditions for Syrian civilians in the conflict, which has left more than 100,000 dead and millions displaced since it began in March 2011 as a peaceful uprising against Mr. Assad’s government.
“We know that the Saudis were obviously disappointed that the strike did not take place,” said Mr. Kerry, referring to the cruise missile attack the White House had planned before it seized on a Russian alternative proposal to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program.
The State Department has condemned the Assad government for blocking supplies of food, water and medicine to the trapped civilians in the besieged Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya, where hungry civilians have been eating leaves off trees and some have died from malnutrition, Samantha Power, the American ambassador, told the Security Council meeting on Tuesday at the United Nations.
Saudi Arabia has also been worried that the Obama administration may be too eager to seek a compromise with Iran over its nuclear program and was unhappy that Washington did not take a stronger stance against the Muslim Brotherhood when President Mohamed Morsi governed Egypt.
Mr. Kerry acknowledged at his news conference that Saudi Arabia has urged more forceful support of the opposition than has the United States.
Mr. Kerry said that he had discussed these issues with Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, when he met with him on Monday in Paris.
“We know that the Saudis were obviously disappointed that the strike didn’t take place,” he said, referring to the cruise missile attack the White House had planned in response to the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack near Damascus. But the Obama administration dropped the plan, seizing on a Russian proposal to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program.
Saudi Arabia was among the 11 nations that issued the communiqué on Tuesday, and Mr. Kerry insisted that the Saudis and Americans were now “on the same page” regarding Syria.
Saudi Arabia was among the 11 nations that issued the communiqué on Tuesday, and Mr. Kerry asserted that it and the United States were now “on the same page” regarding Syria. The other nations are Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The London talks group also included representatives of Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Setting a precise date for Geneva peace talks has been a recurrent problem. The United States, Russia and the United Nations initially first sought to organize one months ago. On Tuesday, Martin Nesirky, a United Nations spokesman, said preparatory meetings would be held on Nov. 5 between Lakhdar Brahimi, the special envoy for Syria, and Russia and the United States, followed by a meeting that included the other three permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China and France.
Efforts to advance peace talks came against a backdrop of worsening conditions for Syrian civilians in the conflict, which has left more than 100,000 dead and millions displaced since it began as a peaceful uprising against President Assad’s government in March 2011.
Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva, said that the estimate of more than 4.25 million people inside Syria uprooted from their homes was outdated and likely to be revised upward. “Virtually every town and city in Syria is affected by the conflict or hosts traumatised, displaced people,” Mr. Edwards said in an email.
At the United Nations, Samantha Power, the American ambassador, told a Security Council meeting on the Middle East that based on what she called credible reports, hungry civilians in one besieged Damascus suburb, Mouadamiya, have been eating leaves off trees and that some have died from malnutrition. Ms. Power also assailed what she called the “assault on medical neutrality,” in which denial of medical care has been used as a weapon of war. “The attacks against medical facilities and on those requiring treatment is barbaric and must halt immediately,” she said.
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.
