Speaking in a press conference as-Safi said talks were under way with the coalition members that had withdrawn from, adding that the final decision on attend the peace conference would be made after taking the opinions of all sections of Syrian opposition.
A letter indicating SNC’s conditions for attending the Geneva II conference was sent to the United Nations Secretary General Ban-ki Moon, said as-Safi. He said the letter called for the safe passage of humanitarian aid convoys to Eastern Ghouta and Homs regions.
As-Safi said the coalition demanded removal of the blockade on capital Damascus and nearby districts, and halt of regime bombings as well as swap of regime troops opposition had captured with women, children and elderly.
The coalition also called for an end to the Syrian regime's "barrel bomb" attacks, and urged Russia to utilize its influence on the Assad administration to stop attacks targeting civilians.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=127167
18/1/14
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Kerry insists no place for Assad in Syria's future. -A "transitional governing body" in Syria (FULL VIDEO)
Syria proposes prisoner exchange/Russia, Syria determined to hold Geneva-II as scheduled. -Lavrov
Secretary-General's remarks at informal meeting of the Plenary of the General Assembly to hear a briefing on UN challenges for 2014. -video UN
- Members of Syrian National Coalition due to vote on whether it will attend talks with regime next week in Geneva.
The SNC was due to meet on Saturday , a day after failing to decide whether it would attend the UN-backed talks, set to start on January 22.
The meeting comes after a flurry of diplomatic activity. On Friday, the Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Muallem, announced he had handed Russia plans for a ceasefire in Aleppo, and was ready to exchange lists with rebel forces on a possible prisoner swap.
Muallem said: "The desires and aspirations of the Syrian people are important to us," he said. "I believe the coalition will arrive at a decision for the good of the Syrian people".
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, however called the regime's offer a diversion from the aim of the talks - installing a new government.
"I'm not particularly surprised that he is trying to divert this. He's been doing this for months, trying to make himself the protector of Syria against extremists," Kerry said of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
Kerry slammed alleged comments from the Syrian regime that the Geneva II peace talks were to discuss ways to combat the rise of terrorist groups plaguing the country as "revisionism".
Kerry also reiterated the point that talks would only be successful if the Syrian regime accepted a transitional government.
"I believe, as we begin to get to Geneva and begin to get into this process, that it will become clear that there is no political solution whatsoever if Assad is not discussing a transition and if he thinks he's going to be part of that future. It's not going to happen," Kerry said.
Washington and Moscow have been trying to negotiate confidence-building measures to force the two sides to the table in Geneva. The SNC has previously demanded the resignation of Assad before it commits to talks.........http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/01/syrian-opposition-decide-peace-talks-201411811120832364.html
18/1/14
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Genève-2: la Coalition nationale syrienne enverrait une délégation (médias)...
ReplyDeleteLa Coalition nationale syrienne (opposition) enverrait une délégation à la conférence internationale de paix "Genève-2" qui se tiendra le 22 janvier à Montreux, en Suisse, a annoncé samedi à la chaîne de télévision Al-Arabiya Fayez Sarah, conseiller politique du chef de la coalition.
Selon M.Sarah, "une annonce à ce sujet sera faite d'ici deux ou trois heures", selon le site turc de la radio "Voix de la Russie".
La Coalition nationale syrienne défendra "les vrais intérêts du peuple syrien et de la révolution", a ajouté M.Sarah.
Munzer Aqbiq, lui aussi conseiller du président de la Coalition nationale syrienne Ahmad Jarba, a annoncé vendredi que le secrétaire général de l'ONU Ban Ki-moon avait invité M.Jarba à prendre part à la conférence internationale de Genève-2. Une réunion de l'assemblée générale de la coalition a commencé vendredi près d'Istanbul. Elle doit déboucher sur une décision concernant la participation de la coalition à la conférence de Montreux.
La Russie et les Etats-Unis ont œuvré pendant plusieurs mois pour l'organisation de la conférence dans l'espoir d'y réunir les représentants de différentes forces politiques syriennes.
http://fr.ria.ru/world/20140118/200251250.html
18/1/14
Syrian opposition will join peace talks....
ReplyDeleteThe main Syrian opposition abroad, the Syrian National Coalition, has agreed to attend the internationally sponsored peace talks beginning in Switzerland next week.
“58 of the National Coalition members have voted in favor for participating in Switzerland,” Bassem Yousef, a Coalition member, told Al Arabiya News Channel.
Yousef said only 14 voted against and two abstained from voting.
Meanwhile, representatives of major Syrian rebel militias met in Ankara on Saturday to try to agree on a common stance for the upcoming peace talks in Switzerland next week, Reuters cited opposition sources as saying.
Ahmad Al-Jarba, head of the Coalition, the main umbrella group of the political opposition in exile, told the SNC’s general assembly in Silivri near Istanbul that the rebel militias had met, a source in the president’s office said. He declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks.
One rebel commander had said the Islamic Front was expected to attend the meeting, but another opposition source said the group had not been present at the talks.
The Coalition, meanwhile, is under huge pressure from its Western and Arab sponsors to attend the peace talks, scheduled to open Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux.
Many Coalition members are hesitant to attend a conference that has little chance of success and will burn the last shred of credibility the group has with powerful rebels on the ground, who reject the talks.
The Coalition could make the announcement regarding the peace conference later Saturday.
The Syrian government has already said it will attend the talks.
(With Reuters and Associated Press)
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/18/Syrian-opposition-will-join-peace-talks.html
18/1/14
Syrian Coalition says it agrees to join international peace talks....
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - The main Syrian political opposition group in exile, the Syrian National Coalition, has agreed to attend internationally sponsored peace talks beginning in Switzerland next week, the Coalition's media office said on Saturday.
The "Geneva 2" talks with representatives from President Bashar al-Assad's government start in Montreux on Wednesday.
Out of around 73 Syrian National Coalition members who voted, 58 backed the motion to attend and 14 voted against. Another 44 had already withdrawn from the vote.
(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/18/us-syria-crisis-opposition-idUSBREA0H0DS20140118?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
18/1/14
Opposition: Geneva ‘funeral’ for Syrian regime....
ReplyDeleteThe main Syrian opposition group in exile promised on Saturday that it will not “compromise” its principles after it finally decided to attend the peace talks in Switzerland next week.
“We will go to Geneva 2 without compromising any principles of our revolution,” Ahmed al-Jarba, head of the Syrian National Coalition, told reporter in a press conference in Istanbul.
Jarba said that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime will “enter its funeral,” when attending the conference.
The Coalition has long said that President Assad must go and that his inner circle cannot participate in any transitional government, stipulations that were required for last year's Geneva 1 conference.
“The [Syrian] regime will not deceive us,” Jarba said, referring to the Baathist Assad’s regime use of a “Arab nationalism” pretext, despite allying itself with Iran.
He also said that Assad’s regime has “sold the world” a false image of “oppressed minorities and terrorism [at the hands of rebels] but it is killing them with its ISIL sword and its Iranian agents.”
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants are extremists who have fought against the more moderate Syrian rebels. Syrian opposition groups have accused ISIL of fulfilling agendas of Assad’s regime.
Jarba’s statement came after the Coalition agreed to attend the internationally sponsored peace talks beginning in Switzerland next week.
“58 of the National Coalition members have voted in favor for participating in Switzerland,” Bassem Yousef, a Coalition member, told Al Arabiya News Channel.
Yousef said only 14 voted against and two abstained from voting..............http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/18/Syrian-opposition-will-join-peace-talks.html
19/1/14
News Analysis: Syria opposition groups eye broader representation in Geneva talks....
ReplyDeleteDAMASCUS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Syria-based opposition groups have agreed that the ill-representation of the Syrian opposition groups in the Geneva II peace talks was one of the main reasons behind the failure, saying that a broader representation could result in tangible results for a political settlement for the country's three-year-old conflict.
They pointed out that the most important aspect is to have one program with a unified negotiation vision of the opposition to help in bringing the three-year-old conflict to an end.
The home-based opposition groups have complained that they were not invited to take part in the Geneva II conference as independent entities. The United States, one of the sponsors of the conference, said that other parties could participate under the SNC umbrella.
The opposition groups, mainly the NCB, said there was no way they would partake under the SNC umbrella, demanding an equal representation in a unified opposition delegation but not in the SNC shadow. The first round of talks wrapped up last Friday with no results at all...............http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-02/05/c_133092837.htm
5/2/14