Laurent Gillieron/AP - Kofi Annan, right, Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League for Syria, speaks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after a meeting of the Action Group for Syria at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva.
By Karen DeYoung, Sunday, July 1, 10:05 AM
The Washington Post
World leaders agreed Saturday to push the Syrian government and opposition forces to begin negotiations toward a transitional government but failed to specify whether President Bashar al-Assad must be excluded.
Instead, participants at a conference in Geneva vowed to “apply joint and sustained pressure on the parties in Syria,” including “members of the present government and the opposition and other groups,” to designate representatives for the talks.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, offered somewhat different interpretations of that mandate.
In comments to reporters, Lavrov noted that the group’s final communique includes no demand for Assad to step down. A call to exclude anyone who would undermine negotiations or a new government, contained in a draft proposal from Kofi Annan, envoy for the United Nations, did not appear in the communique.
Clinton acknowledged what she called “minor textual changes” in Annan’s proposal but said they did not affect the substance of what was decided at the meeting. “We read the results to be the same,” Clinton said. “Assad will still have to go.”
“We and our partners made absolutely clear to Russia and China that it is now incumbent upon them to show Assad the writing on the wall,” she said.
In the communique, participants also pledged their opposition “to any further militarization of the conflict,” an agreement that would seem to preclude provision of arms to either Assad or the opposition. They also agreed to additional U.N. mandates “if requested,” and demanded an immediate cease-fire from all parties and safe access for humanitarian organizations, journalists and an existing group of U.N. monitors.
Annan convened the meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, France and China, in addition to the United States and Russia — and Arab League leaders after acknowledging that his U.N.-backed cease-fire plan was not working. Saturday’s proposal incorporates that plan but specifies new negotiations among mutually agreed government, opposition and minority representatives and the formation of an interim government including all of them, followed by a new constitution and democratic elections.
Asked about a timetable for implementation, Annan said he would “immediately engage the government and opposition, and consult widely with Syrian society” and that he expected to visit Damascus, the Syrian capital.
In a stern statement opening the conference, Annan told the delegations that “we should never have even reached this point. Security Council resolutions have been passed, joint statements of determination issued, a peace plan agreed and commitments made. The great and the powerful in the international community have repeatedly expressed their firm backing and resolve to do what is needed.”
“Action should surely have been taken” to implement his original plan, he said, “but none has been forthcoming.” That failure, and the deteriorating situation in Syria, Annan said, “leaves you with a clear choice: either unite to secure your common interests; or divide, and surely fail each in your own individual way.”
While Clinton focused her comments on Russia’s responsibility to push Assad out of the way, the opposition’s response to the Geneva statements indicated that the United States and its allies also have their work cut out for them in convincing the opposition to drop its insistence that Assad’s guaranteed departure precede any negotiations.
“The regime is not going to cooperate on anything,” said Bassma Kodmani, head of foreign relations for the opposition Syrian National Council. “There is no successful formulation without the departure of Assad. This is a condition that is non-negotiable.”
Coverage of the conference by Sana, the Syrian government news agency, emphasized the communique’s call for Syrians to decide their own future, and Lavrov’s assurance that there was no specific call for Assad’s departure.
As diplomats met in Geneva, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 81 civilians were killed Saturday in Syria, most of them from government shelling and sniper fire in cities around the country, at least 30 of them in an explosion at a funeral procession in Zamalka, a Damascus suburb. About 20 government soldiers were also killed in clashes with opposition fighters, according to an observatory spokesman.
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34 Comments
John84 wrote: 11:16 PM UTC+1000
One plausible explanation of why Putin supports the continuation of the civil-war and massacare in Syria. It is that Russian political class, still remembering the days of USSR, such as Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov live in a nostalgic dilution that Russia can, by keeping the appearances, acquire the statues of former Soviet Union in the world stage. This is a completely unrealistic expectation form Russian older political class, since Russia today has less than 10% of the economic power of USA. Same thing with the other aspects of Russia today as compared to the former USSR; population wise and human or other resources, excluding petroleum. This total delusion of today’s Russian political class, pretending that they can take Russia back to the time of the USSR world superpower statues, without having what it takes, economically and Geographically is the main cause of misunderstanding in their dealings with the free-world. This unrealistic and unrealizable goal of Russian rulers toady is the cause of dead-lock in negotiations and Russian unexpected undiplomatic reactions to the world current event, such as Syrian civil war. Unfortunately, this reaction is sometime mutually reinforced by some western old-politician’s erroneous opinion of Russia, as if it has still the power of the former USSR. The only choice left for the free world leaders, in dealing with the Russians, is to give a realistic weight to the Russian opinion that it deserve and no more. In dealing with Russian present political class, such as Putin or Lavrov, we should always bear in mind that; Russia is not the USSR, in spite of what these actors, Putin and Lavrov, want us to believe, try to keep the appearances and pretend that it is so. Free world should let Russians present political class learn by trial-and-error that; Russian statues in the world, economically, physically and realistically can never be even close to that of the former USSR.
John84 wrote: 10:46 PM UTC+1000
One plausible explanation of why Putin supports the continuation of the civil-war and massacare in Syria. It is that Russian political class, still remembering the days of USSR, such as Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov live in a nostalgic dilution that Russia can, by keeping the appearances, acquire the statues of former Soviet Union in the world stage. This is a completely unrealistic expectation form Russian older political class, since Russia today has less than 10% of the economic power of USA. Same thing with the other aspects of Russia today as compared to the former USSR; population wise and human or other resources, excluding petroleum. This total delusion of today’s Russian political class, pretending that they can take Russia back to the time of the USSR world superpower statues, without having what it takes, economically and Geographically is the main cause of misunderstanding in their dealings with the free-world. This unrealistic and unrealizable goal of Russian rulers toady is the cause of dead-luck in negotiations and Russian unexpected undiplomatic reactions to the world current event, such as Syrian civil war. Unfortunately, this reaction is sometime mutually reinforced by some western old-politician’s erroneous opinion of Russia, as if it has still the power of the former USSR. The only choice left for the free world leaders, in dealing with the Russians, is to give a realistic weight to the Russian opinion that it deserve and no more. In dealing with Russian present political class, such as Putin or Lavrov, we should always bear in mind that; Russia is not the USSR, in spite of what these actors, Putin and Lavrov, want us to believe, try to keep the appearances and pretend that it is so. Free world should let Russians present political class learn by trial-and-error that; Russian statues in the world, economically, physically and realistically can never be even close to that of the former USSR.
Postmark54, wrote: 3:44 PM UTC+1000
Assad is doing what every responsible government would do and that is to rid the country of murderous thugs and criminals, I would like to see Washington D.C. under attack from so called rebels and see Obama stand idly by and say it's OK, we respect the rights of all our citizens and if they don't like their government they're free to kill at will. Hillary Clinton is an old school warmonger and there's nothing she would like more than to see Americans boots on the ground in Syria, just like in Iraq and Afghanistan.
John84 responds: 11:10 PM UTC+1000
Post mark54; what is written by, presumably by a Syrian supported of Assad’s regime, is one of many irrefutable proofs, that Syria is made of a conglomeration of tribes and clans, put together artificially by the former colonial powers; such as France and Ottoman Empire, as an artificial Nation. Since, today many Syrian supporters of the regime, show no empathy or solidarity for other Syrians. The inevitable conclusion is that, Syria is an artificial country and should be divided into at least three different independent states, Arabs, Kurds, and Christians, where people of those territories actually think of themselves as belonging to the same nation, and who would care for each other’s survival and welfare as a country. ....See More User ID:http://washingtonpost.com/EXVWRjm1CPq77sQjblTtOcgoWI6YUHMFVlNQOUtKBgd/tT03sC7QkQ%3D%3D/
joe100821 wrote: 3:33 PM UTC+1000
A tree is known by its fruit! Assad's tree yields bloodshed and destruction. As such there is no place for him in a new Syrian government. Behind jail bars has appeal but better yet a hangmans rope and a noose. And lets not forget that he had a multitude of hencemen. They gotta go to, preferably to hell where they can receive the rewards for their crimes against humanity. Killing innocent men, women and children by the hundreds as they did!...See More User ID:http://washingtonpost.com/ftYNZQD7j6eosjWB9kK5I8goWI6YUHMFVlNQOUtKBgd/tT03sC7QkQ%3D%3D/
reformthesystem responds: 9:58 PM UTC+1000
Or a perception reinforced for 1,300 years could be that the Sunni sect tree has been emanating only bloodshed, enslavement and suppression.
mishoj wrote: 3:24 PM UTC+1000
These are not peaceful countries - and in many cases, the very people who live in these countries do not get along with each other....in fact - you have a weak leader, you have serious problems......replacing the old with someone new can come back and bite you, as history has proven over the years - sure it is a armpit of a country today - but tomorrow, it is an armpit of a country you do not want spend a TRILLION DOLLARS to be at war with....because the guy is an idiot - his father had sex with a giraffe, does not necessary mean blow the place back to the stone age....I guess they are still there, sorry -
Michae btt1943 wrote: 1:40 PM UTC+1000
Apart from Syria's geopolitical importance to Russia, Moscow has a hidden economic agenda -- it does not want any gas pipeline to run across Syria from Arab peninsula to Europe. (mtd1943)
Don Koh wrote: 1:12 PM UTC+1000
If Hillary wanted to make a bigger impact on this summit meeting, for starters she could have worn dark glasses and not smiled as much in her photo ops, which would have better reflected a sign of mourning for the brutality and catastrophe inflicted and suffered in Syria thus far. I'd have to advise her to get some better council before heading into such big-time international summits. Respects.
pinza3 wrote: 1:01 PM UTC+1000
So the outside world is going to decide how to settle the Syrian dispute. That is like France deciding how our Civil War should have been settled. The Syrians are not going to listen to them as they should not. Koffi is dangling his peace papers in the air and everybody laughs at him, as they should. This is just an exercise in children playing games to save the planet. Can you imagine Koffi trying to settle the Spaninsh Civil War? That would have been fun to watch....See More User ID:http://washingtonpost.com/euqgxMn79f2jDkuypj2lw%2BFQ7R0OKhSUgbTo%2BP96Aj/uyxbUXoLEHQ%3D%3D/
LarryLeighton responds: 1:13 PM UTC+1000
You think this is a game? Many people are being killed because of the neighborhood they live not because of their loyalties, or beliefs, just because they are there. And you wanted to watch it,
(to be continued ...)
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