WORLD_ SYRIA_ Syria Geneva II: First full day of talks to begin

4 January 2014 Last updated at 03:18 GMT

Syria Geneva II: First full day of talks to begin

BBC


The first full day of peace talks between the Syrian government and rebels is due to begin in Geneva.

On Thursday UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi shuttled between the two sides to assess their willingness to meet together.

The opening day of the conference was hosted in the Swiss city of Montreux and saw bitter exchanges between the rival delegations.

The three-year conflict has claimed well over 100,000 lives, the UN says.

The violence has also driven 9.5 million people from their homes, creating a major humanitarian crisis within Syria and for its neighbours.

On Thursday Mr Brahimi held behind-the-scenes negotiations between representatives of President Bashar al-Assad government and of the National Coalition.

The talks are unprecedented seeing as the two sides have never before agreed to hold formal discussions, the BBC's Bridget Kendall reports from Geneva.

Western diplomats say Mr Brahimi's main concern for Friday may be to ensure that neither delegation stage a walkout, our correspondent reports.

One small encouraging sign for Friday's talks is that both sides will be in the same room for the opening session on Friday, she adds.

However, they are not expected to talk to each other - after being addressed jointly by Mr Brahimi, they will consult in separate rooms to work out initial positions.

A schedule for the duration of the rest of the talks is due to be set on Friday, but even setting the agenda may be problematic.

The government is expected to insist on the importance of fighting "terrorism", while the opposition will want to removal of Mr Assad high on the agenda.

'Super-magnet for terrorism'

The head of the National Coalition, Ahmed Jarba, told reporters on Thursday: "I think that the world is convinced today that Assad is not staying and will not stay in power."

"We have begun to look towards the future, the future of a free and prosperous Syria," he added.

The removal of Mr Assad is a key opposition demand and was echoed by US Secretary of State John Kerry, calling Mr Assad "a one-man super magnet for terrorism" in an interview with the Al Arabiya TV channel.

Syrian officials have flatly rejected any suggestion of Mr Assad stepping down and he has suggested he will run for president again in elections due this year.

A senior Russian official has told the BBC that nobody other than President Assad could run Syria at the moment.

Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said the conflict was a battle for power and not a fight for democracy.

He said the toppling of the Libyan and Egyptian leaders had ended in disasters and Russia wanted stability.

The Geneva I communique, agreed at a previous summit in 2012, calls for a transitional government in Syria with full executive powers.

With no movement likely from either side on the bigger political questions, Mr Brahimi has suggested both sides may be willing to discuss more short-term measures such as local cease-fires, prisoner exchanges and establishing safe corridors for the delivery of badly-needed aid.

But correspondents say that with the lack of trust on either side, even that may collapse into disagreements, and it remains to be seen how much influence the National Coalition can wield over the full spectrum of opposition groups, some of whom have rejected the Geneva process.

Iran, Syria's main ally in the region, has been excluded from the talks in Switzerland, despite earlier being invited by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for the Syrian opposition and government to sit round a table as the prelude to "free and fair elections".

It was for the Syrian people to decide their future, he added.

"No outside party or power can decide for the Syrian people and Syria as a country. We all have to help the people."

Meanwhile, the head of al-Qaeda Ayman al-Zawahiri called on Thursday on rebel groups in northern Syria to stop fighting one another.

Clashes between rebels and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) have been going on for three weeks. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 1,400 people have died in the violence.

In an internet audio message, Mr al-Zawahiri called on "every free person in Syria seeking to overthrow Assad... to seek an end to fighting between brothers in jihad and Islam immediately".


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