WORLD_ Russia Hosts Syrians in Bid to Build New Peace Talks

VOA

Russia Hosts Syrians in Bid to Build New Peace Talks

VOA News
January 26, 2015 4:16 AM

Russia is hosting Syrian delegations for talks in Moscow as part of a push to relaunch substantive peace talks and find a political resolution to the country's nearly four-year civil war.

Officials say the goal of the four days of talks beginning Monday is to lay the groundwork for a new peace conference like the two rounds of U.N.-brokered negotiations last year in Geneva. Those talks achieved little progress.

Expectations for the Moscow meetings are low amid a boycott from the main Western-backed opposition and questions about how to broker an agreement among the diverse range of groups fighting against the government.

In an interview published Monday by the U.S.-based journal Foreign Affairs, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said "any war ends with a political solution," but that discussions must be with a true Syrian opposition and not a "puppet" controlled by Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Western nations.

Assad questioned Western countries describing the existence of a "moderate opposition" in Syria, saying those fighters are really "rebels" who have mostly become part of al-Qaida or rejoined the Syrian army.

His government has long described opposition fighters as "terrorists" and blamed the influence of foreign governments.

In the interview, he accuses Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of going against a U.N. Security Council resolution and supporting Islamic State fighters and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. He also claimed Turkey is providing a "continuous supply" of new rebels to fight in Syria.

Assad also said the Islamic State group has gained more territory since the beginning of U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the militants, calling the U.S. effort "window dressing" instead of real progress that can only come with ground fighting.

U.S. leaders and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi say the airstrikes -- more than 1,800 of them since August -- have been effective in halting the militants' momentum and helping Iraqi forces and Kurdish fighters reclaim territory. Abadi has also stressed the need for a ground effort, asking the international community last week for more resources and training for his troops.

What began in March 2011 as peaceful protests against Assad's government has spiraled into a war involving both moderate opposition fighters and Islamic militants battling government forces and each other for territory and influence.

The conflict has left more than 200,000 people dead and forced a huge chunk of the country's population to flee their homes. Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt are hosting 3.7 million Syrian refugees, while the U.N. says another 7.6 million people are displaced within Syria.

***

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
26012015
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC