Syria opposition says Iran must not attend, calls for more weapons
Thomson Reuters
Posted: Nov 03, 2013 5:40 PM ET| Last Updated: Nov 03, 2013 5:40 PM ET
Members of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, including the group's president, Ahmed Jarba, centre, say the group won't attend peace talks to end the Syrian civil war unless there is a clear timeframe for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press) (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)
The Syrian opposition set terms on Sunday for attending peace talks to end the Syrian civil war, in a move that throws the proposed conference into further confusion after the international envoy said there should be no preconditions.
The long-delayed talks — known as Geneva 2 — are meant to bring Syria's warring sides to the negotiating table, but have been repeatedly delayed because of disputes between world powers, divisions among the opposition and irreconcilable positions of Assad and the rebels.
Syrian National Coalition President Ahmad Jarba said the opposition would not attend unless there was a clear timeframe for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power. He also said they could not accept the presence of Iran.
■ Syria’s civil war: key facts, important players
■ UN envoy to Syria says no preconditions to peace talks
"We have decided not to enter Geneva talks unless it is with dignity, and unless there is a successful transfer of power with a specific timeframe, and without the occupier Iran at the negotiating table," Jarba told an Arab League emergency meeting of foreign minister in Cairo.
Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy for Syria, has said he hoped the conference could still be held in the next few weeks despite obstacles.
Though he had in the past said he thought Assad would not be part of a transitional government that Geneva 2 would attempt to install, he said on Friday that his opinions had no bearing on the parameters for the conference.
There is also discord among world powers over whether Iran should be invited to the talks. Tehran has said it is ready to come and Brahimi says the UN preferred that Iran attend but there had been no agreement on that yet.
A senior State Department official, speaking ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Cairo and Riyadh, said the top U.S. diplomat would make clear to the Saudis that Iran would not be welcome to attend the Syria peace talks unless it endorsed a past agreement that would see Assad give up power.
"Iran has not done that, and without that even we couldn't consider the possibility of their participating," the official added, stressing: "It is a question of just making sure they understand the details of how firm our position is."
Call for weapons
In Cairo, an Arab League draft communique called on the Syrian opposition to attend the conference.
"It [Arab League] decided to call on all sides of the Syrian opposition under the leadership of the Syrian National Coalition ... to accelerate the formation of the negotiating delegation."
In Cairo, Jarba urged world powers to supply Syrians fighting Assad with weapons in the conflict that has so far claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.
"We demand a clear decision on supplying the Syrian people with weapons to fight the hostility which gets worse hour by hour ... We guarantee that these weapons will not fall into the wrong hands."
The growing influence of radical Islamist fighters and the disarray of rebel forces have made Western powers wary of intervening directly in the civil war by supplying weapons or troops.
While some rebel tensions stem from contrasting ideological outlooks, most infighting centres around rival claims over the control of territory, smuggling and other spoils of war.
Arab and Western officials have said that international powers were unlikely to meet their goal of holding the conference in November.
Even if Jarba were to attend the Geneva 2 meetings, he has no authority over the rebel brigades battling to overthrow Assad.
The main rebel brigades have announced their opposition to the conference if it does not result in Assad's removal.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-opposition-lays-preconditions-for-peace-talks-1.2350553
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
04112013
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment