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In Geneva, Diplomats Try to Push Syria Peace Conference Diplomats Fail to Agree on Details for Syria Peace Talks
(about 7 hours later)
GENEVA — Senior United States, Russian and United Nations diplomats met in Geneva on Tuesday at the start of a series of meetings aimed at building momentum for a second Syria peace conference despite bitter rifts within Syrian opposition groups and other states in the region. GENEVA — Senior diplomats from the United States, Russia and the United Nations failed on Tuesday to agree on a date for convening a long-awaited peace conference aimed at settling the Syria conflict, acknowledging it would not take place this month and possibly not this year.
Wendy R. Sherman, the United States undersecretary of state for political affairs, and two deputy Russian foreign ministers, Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov, began Tuesday’s talks by meeting Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. and Arab League special envoy for Syria, who has just completed a tour of Arab capitals that vividly exposed the divisions in Syria and the region that diplomats will have to bridge to bring about the peace talks known as Geneva 2. The diplomats adjourned after meetings in Geneva that could not resolve the most basic obstacles: which countries would attend such a conference, who would represent the fractious Syrian opposition and what role — if any — would be played by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, whose polarizing effects have proved among the most difficult issues to overcome.
In a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad last week, the Syrian leader repeated to Mr. Brahimi that “only the Syrian people are authorized to shape the future of Syria,” a formula that rebuffs Western demands that he should surrender power as part of a peace process. Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy on Syria, told reporters: “We were hoping that we would be in a position to announce a date today. Unfortunately we are not.” He added, “We are still striving to see if we can have a conference before the end of the year.”
In Cairo, Arab foreign ministers formally endorsed the proposed meeting and urged Ahmad Jarba, the head of the opposition National Coalition, to participate. But Mr. Jarba, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, said the opposition would not join the Geneva talks if Iran, an ally of President Assad, attended and without a clear timetable for Mr. Assad to step down. The coalition also has little leverage over rebel groups that have warned that anyone participating in Geneva 2 would be considered traitors. Mr. Brahimi, a seasoned United Nations troubleshooter who has been overseeing the effort to resolve the conflict since September 2012, said he would reconvene with Russian and American officials here in Geneva on Nov. 25 for further efforts to hold a peace conference, which Russia and the United States first proposed six months ago.
The meeting in Geneva came a day after Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Riyadh to try to assuage mounting Saudi impatience at what it fears may be weakening pressure from Washington for forcing Mr. Assad from office. The delay came against the backdrop of a leap in the number of Syrians uprooted by the war, with the United Nations reporting more than nine million — 40 percent of the population — have either fled the country or been internally displaced. Mr. Brahimi said 6,000 Syrians a day are leaving for neighboring countries and that a new emergency donor conference will have to raise additional billions of dollars in coming months for humanitarian relief. “This is not sustainable,” he said.
In the face of such obstacles, the late November target date for Geneva 2 appears ambitious, but Mr. Brahimi, speaking to reporters after his talks with President Assad, still held out the hope that parties to the conflict could be brought together “in the next few weeks, not next year.” More than 110,000 Syrians have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011.
After the trilateral talks on Tuesday morning, Mr. Brahimi and the American and Russian delegations are to be joined by three permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Britain, China and France. Later in the day, the talks are to widen again to include senior officials from Syria’s neighbors, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey as well as representatives from the Arab League. In the first round of preparatory talks for a peace conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Brahimi met with Wendy R. Sherman, the United States assistant secretary for political affairs, and two Russian deputy foreign ministers,  Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov. These discussions widened later to include the other permanent Security Council members — Britain, China and France. A third session included officials from Syria’s neighbors Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and a briefing from international relief agencies.
The talks in Geneva opened against a backdrop of increasing humanitarian alarm in Syria. Mr. Brahimi made clear that the lack of preparation on the part of Syria’s opposition was an acute and immediate cause for delaying a peace conference. “They are divided, that’s no secret for anyone, they are facing all sorts of problems,” he said.
According to the United Nations, the number of Syrians needing help has surged to 9.3 million from 6.8 million in June. The figure represents some 40 percent of the estimated 23 million people in a country that has been seized by conflict since a crackdown on peaceful protest against President Assad began in March 2011. The opposition National Coalition has no leverage over the armed groups battling Mr. Assad, particularly the jihadist militants linked to Al Qaeda who are among the most effective fighters. They have said that any insurgents who participate in Geneva peace talks would be regarded as traitors.
Since then, more than 110,000 people have died and, while Mr. Assad has agreed to dismantle chemical weapons stockpiles, fighting with conventional munitions still claims a daily toll, forcing many to flee their homes and blocking efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance. Mr. Brahimi also acknowledged that the diplomats had been unable to agree on whether Iran, Mr. Assad’s most important regional ally, would be invited to a peace conference. “Iran is definitely one of the issues that will be discussed further,” he said.
Valerie Amos, the top humanitarian official at the United Nations, told the Security Council on Monday that the number who have abandoned their homes but remained in Syria stood at 6.5 million compared to 4.25 million in June. Her remarks in a closed briefing to the Security Council were relayed by a spokeswoman, Amanda Pitt. Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival and a major supporter of the Syrian insurgency, remains opposed to Iranian participation in peace talks. Western governments, recognizing Iran as an important participant, have appeared less resistant to Iran’s attendance. But diplomats say a major obstacle is Iran’s reluctance to endorse the communiqué of the first Geneva conference in June 2012, which called for a transition under a government formed by mutual consent.
“The humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate rapidly and inexorably,” Ms. Amos said. The question of Mr. Assad’s role in a transition government looms as a major obstacle. In a meeting with Mr. Brahimi in Damascus last week, Mr. Assad said “only the Syrian people are authorized to shape the future of Syria,” a formula that rejects American insistence that he step down as part of any peace process. “We are not going to Geneva to hand over power,” Syria’s information minister, Omran al-Zoubi said on Monday, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency. “President Bashar al-Assad will remain head of state.”
Her spokeswoman added: “Amos continues to press the council for their help and influence over those parties who can ensure the protection of civilians and civilian facilities; the safe passage of medical personnel and supplies; the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance; and can facilitate progress in expanding critical, lifesaving relief operations.” Syria’s agreement in September to American and Russian demands for destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal has made it easier for Mr. Assad to defend that position, some Western diplomats have acknowledged. “It relies on there being a coherent Syrian government in place,” one diplomat said.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the group responsible for overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical arms stockpile, said Tuesday that its team in Syria had visited 21 of 23 sites and verified that critical equipment used to produce chemical weapons had been rendered inoperable, along with filling and mixing plants. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the group responsible for overseeing the destruction of those weapons, said Tuesday that its team in Syria had visited 21 of 23 sites and verified that equipment used to produce chemical weapons had been rendered inoperable, along with filling and mixing plants.
In addition, the agency said, 99 chemical warheads had been destroyed at one site, and 55 others were due to be destroyed at another. Sigrid Kaag, special coordinator for the organization’s joint mission with the United Nations, told reporters there that the verification efforts were on schedule, despite the war.
Sigrid Kaag, special coordinator for the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations, told reporters at United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday that the verification efforts were on schedule, despite the war. Increased confidence in Mr. Assad’s political durability has been reflected in a recent surge in value of the Syrian pound, the national currency.  
Afterward, the American ambassador, Samantha Power, pointed to what she called the stark contrast between the Syrian regime's cooperation in letting chemical weapons inspectors to do their work, but not humanitarian workers. She said the government had not granted visas to dozens of United Nations workers nor lifted "bureaucratic impediments" to delivering aid. In other war-related developments on Tuesday, the Vatican reported that a mortar shell struck the building that houses its embassy in Damascus, but caused no casualties.
“It’s outrageous that the Syrian government, which has granted visas and facilitated the work of the chemical weapons inspectors has not lifted a finger to allow relief workers into the country to assist those citizens who are in desperate need,” she said. In Turkey, the military said it had forcibly stopped a convoy of cars en route to Syria through an illicit border crossing and had confiscated materials including sulfur that are the ingredients for explosives.
The Security Council last month issued a statement urging all parties to the conflict to enable access to humanitarian aid, but that statement has no enforcement powers. Syria’s key backer on the Council, Russia, has opposed an enforceable resolution.

Nick Cumming-Bruce reported from Geneva, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London, Somini Sengupta from the United Nations, and Sebnem Arsu from Istanbul, Turkey.

Ms. Power also reiterated the American position on President Assad's tenure, saying he was "not fit to govern" despite his cooperation on the chemical weapons issue.
On Monday, Faisal al-Miqdad, a deputy foreign minister, said the Syrian government was doing its best to deliver humanitarian aid and was pressing for the delivery of help to “trapped civilians, especially in hot spots,” the official SANA news agency said.
But Mr. Miqdad accused rebels seeking Mr. Assad’s overthrow and of attacking aid convoys, hindering humanitarian deliveries. In recent days, concern has become particularly acute following fears of a polio epidemic.
In late October, United Nations officials said they were mobilizing to vaccinate 2.5 million young children in Syria and more than eight million others in the region to combat what they fear could be an explosive outbreak of polio.
The officials said that the discovery of a cluster of paralyzed young children in Deir al-Zour, a heavily contested city in eastern Syria, had prompted their alarm and that tests conducted by both the government and rebel sides strongly suggested that the children had been afflicted with polio.

Nick Cumming-Bruce reported from Geneva, and Alan Cowell from London. Somini Sengupta contributed reporting from the United Nations.