Opposition seeks direct talks with Syria

Representatives refuse to soften stance that Al Assad playing no role in interim period

Al Assad’s exit not a precondition to take part in UN-backed dialogue

Syrian opposition representatives selected Nasr Hariri to head a negotiating team at an upcoming round of UNbacked peace talks in Geneva, spokesman Ahmad Ramadan told Reuters yesterday.

The decision came at a meeting in Riyadh where, a day before, Syria’s main opposition stuck by its demand that President Bashar Al Assad play no role in an interim period despite speculation that it could soften its stance because of Al Assad’s battlefield strength.

Syria opposition representatives meeting in the Saudi capital had on Thursday called for direct and unconditional negotiations with the Syrian government over the more than six-year civil war that would lead to the launch of a transition period.

The opposition didn’t condition its participation in upcoming UN-based negotiations on the departure of Al Assad from office, signalling a softened stance. The issue has always been the sticking point in previous rounds of talks, deepening division among an already fragmented opposition.

However, in the final communique obtained by AP, opposition representatives said a peaceful and unbiased transition period will not be possible without Al Assad first leaving office.

Common ground

“We set our negotiation goals. We didn’t put down conditions,” Ramadan said, addoing that different opposition groups with divergent view points on Al Assad’s role in the transition period have found common ground. It is now up to the government to show seriousness, he said.

In the communique, the opposition delegates said an unbiased and peaceful transition “will not happen without the departure of Al Assad and his cronies and the repression machine at the start of the transition period.”

The statement added: “Despite this, those meeting are asking the UN, through its envoy, to take the needed immediate measures to activate the political process ... by calling for direct unconditional negotiations” between the opposition and the government.

They added the negotiations should be based on the 2012 Geneva declaration, which calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, and which can include members of the current Syrian government.

After major military victories made possible by his allies Russia and Iran, there seems to be a consensus that the 52-year-old Al Assad is not going to step down easily after more than six years of war that has killed an estimated 470,000 people and left the country in ruins.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia, the host of the opposition meeting, said an international consensus is building for a political agreement, urging the different groups to find a united vision before the talks. Moscow and opposition members it backs have called for an “unconditional” process.

Russia, which provides decisive military support for Al Assad’s troops, has also announced it plans to host separate government-opposition talks next month. Some in the opposition feared it was as an attempt to create a track parallel to the UN negotiations.