The Syrian war

Damascus ready for talks with armed groups, rebels demand Assad’s resignation

RT,

February 25, 2013 07:14

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The Syrian government is ready for negotiations with the opposition, including armed groups, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said while in Moscow for talks. 

The opposition is divided with rebels refusing to talk until President Assad steps down.

“We are ready for dialogue with anyone who wants dialogue, including those who are fighting with arms in their hands, because we are confident that reforms cannot be carried out through bloodshed, but through dialogue,” Muallem said ahead of the talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Syrian FM pointed out to Lavrov that there are rebel fighters from some 30 foreign countries engaging in fighting in Syria at the moment.

“Today Jabhat al-Nusra, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda, is involved in main fighting in Syria. It invited fighters from 28 countries including Chechnya,” he said.

Russia`s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Syrian government not to give in to provocations by those who oppose a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.

“The number of the supporters of this realistic line [peaceful solution] is increasing. Those who want to continue the war feel it. They try to strangle positive tendencies among the opposition and prevent steps towards the dialogue,” he said.

Lavrov reiterated that Russian position remains unchanged as Moscow only seeks a peaceful outcome to the crisis.

Moaz al-Khatib, president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, said he had not yet been in contact with Damascus about any talks.

"The visit to Moscow is delayed now until we see how things develop," Alkhatib told reporters in Cairo.

The response from the opposition on the ground was categorical. There could be no negotiations until President Bashar Assad steps down and leaders of the army and security forces are put on trial, a Syrian rebel leader was quoted by Al Arabiya Television.

"We will not go [into talks] unless these demands are realized," Brigadier Selim Idris, head of a military command said.

The location of the possible talks is also contentious as the opposition wants to hold negotiations abroad or on rebel-controlled territories, while Damascus insists it should be conducted on Syrian territory under government control.

The official oppositional body, the Syrian National Coalition did not take part in Moscow talks. Last week the coalition announced that it would turn down the invitation to Moscow negotiations with the Syrian government to protest the recent attack on the city of Aleppo.

Some 30 people were killed in Aleppo in Friday as rockets hit residential area. Activists reported hundreds of dead, but the information was never confirmed.

‘Friends of Syria’ – no friends of opposition?

Following the attack on Aleppo the Syrian National Coalition also refused to attend the meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria scheduled for this Thursday in Rome.

The statement released by the coalition said the international community "amounts to participating in two years of killings" by staying silent about "the crimes committed every day against our people."

This is despite the National Coalition's leader Moaz al-Khatib saying earlier this month that he was ready to meet with Syrian government to discuss an end to the violence.

The initiative was strongly backed by international powers, including Russia, and he was invited to Washington and Moscow. Now those visits will not take place.

Rebels Reject Syrian Govt Calls for Negotiations

Demand Assad's Immediate Resignation as Precondition

Anti-War,

February 25, 2013

Syrian rebels have once again angrily condemned offers for negotiations with the Assad government, insisting that they would never negotiate until Assad announced his immediate resignation, adding that they believe he and other members of the regime are “criminals and we will not negotiate with a criminal.”

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said that the government was ready to negotiate without any precondition, and that they were even willing to negotiate with armed factions, and indeed anyone else willing to negotiate with them.

The comments are a step forward for Syria’s government in agreeing to negotiation, as previous offers have come with preconditions of a ceasefire. The rebel position, which is to reject any talks, has not changed.

The rebels appear not to have an endgame that involves a negotiated settlement, despite the apparent stalemate of the ongoing civil war. Minor territorial gains are forever being reported, but the rebels seem no closer to act

Syria

Peace first, then troop withdrawal – Syrian govt

The Syrian government has said that it will not withdraw its troops from towns and cities across the conflict-torn country until “peace and security prevail.” Officials maintain that security forces are there to uphold security and protect civilians..

RT,

31 March, 2012

Foreign ministry spokesperson Jihad Makdessi told Syrian State television on Friday that the troops were stationed in a capacity of “self-defense and protecting civilians.” He emphasized that security was a Syrian matter and that the UN must recognize the sovereignty of the Syrian government.

Furthermore, Makdessi said that the Syrian government was willing to cooperate with Koffi Annan’s peace plan to “remove all excuses” for possible international intervention.

"The battle to topple the state is over. Our goal now is to ensure stability and create a perspective for reform and development in Syria while preventing others from sabotaging the path of reform," he stressed.

The announcement came just hours after Annan’s spokesperson Ahmad Fawzi called for the government to be the first to cease the fighting as “a gesture of good faith.”

“The deadline is now,” Fawzi said.

Assad had said earlier that he would not call for a ceasefire until opposition rebel groups have laid down their arms. For their part, the Syrian opposition refuse to accept any resolution that does not stipulate Assad’s removal, claiming that his acceptance of Annan’s 6-point proposal is merely an attempt to draw out the conflict.

Opposition activists in the country reported an escalation in violence in Syria on Friday, with violent clashes erupting in Damascus and the northern city of Idlib.

Meanwhile, the international community is still searching for a solution that will bring the conflict to an end. The second summit of the so-called ‘Friends of Syria’ is scheduled for this Sunday and is aimed at encouraging the unification of disparate Syrian rebel groups so they can offer a viable alternative to the Assad regime. Ways to get humanitarian aid to the most violence-torn areas of the country will also be high on the agenda.

The group was created with a view to bypassing the Russian and Chinese veto of previous Security Council resolutions that called for the removal of Assad.

The uprisings against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been raging for well over a year, with UN estimates putting the death toll at over 9,000 people.

Syrian peace plan

Syrian govt accepts Annan's 6-point peace plan

Damascus has accepted Kofi Annan's six-point plan to stop bloodshed in the country, a spokesman for the UN envoy to Syria announced.

RT,

27 March, 2012

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Kofi Annan has praised Damascus’s acceptance of the plan as “an important initial step” towards ending violence in the country and creating an environment to start a dialogue between the regime and the Syrian opposition.

Annan's plan has been endorsed by the UN Security Council in a non-binding presidential statement.

The plan includes a cease-fire by Syrian forces, a daily two-hour halt to fighting to provide humanitarian aid, and talks to search for a political solution to the crisis.

The opposition has also welcomed the government’s acceptance of the UN peace plan, a member of the Syrian National Council has said.

Bassma Kodmani, a Paris-based member of the group, told the Associated Press by phone Tuesday “we welcome all acceptance by the regime of a plan that could allow the repression and bloodbath to stop.”

“We hope that we can move toward a peace process,” she continued.

Annan has already met with Assad twice. He uniformly demanded the Syrian government and the opposition immediately cease violence in populated areas.

Assad responded by saying that "Syria is ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing."

The Syrian president, however, said he cannot stop protecting his citizens.

"No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability,” Assad asserted.

China on Tuesday offered its “full support” to Kofi Annan's mediation efforts in Syria, Annan said. The same commitment came from Russia over the weekend. Russia and China’s support may prove crucial in implementing Annan's plan, which has been endorsed by the UN Security Council in a non-binding presidential statement.

Moscow and Beijing twice vetoed sanctions proposed by the UNSC, with Russia demanding the council issue a call to end bloodshed in the Arab country not only to the ruling regime, but also to opposition activists.

According to the UN, over 8,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict erupted over a year ago.

A message of peace

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To the Iranian people

To all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters

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I see sometime here, on the TV, an Iranian. He is talking about war.

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