Syria crisis: Opposition lays preconditions for peace talks to end civil war
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.
"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
U.N. 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 communiqué 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 centers 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.