Powers bring Syria peace plan to UN

Suspected Russia raids kill 32 civilians

NEW YORK, Dec 18, (AFP): The world powers most implicated in Syria’s civil war met Friday to renew efforts to bind Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its rebel foes into a ceasefire and peace talks.

Convened by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, 17 foreign ministers gathered at a New York hotel.

Later, they were to head across the city to the United Nations and seek the support of the Security Council for their plan to achieve a political settlement to the almost five-year civil war.

The New York talks are the first meeting of the International Syria Support Group since Saudi Arabia gathered a coalition of Syria rebel groups to form an opposition negotiating team.

If the ministers give their support to Saudi Arabia’s planned rebel delegation, pressure will mount on Russia to bring its ally Assad to the table for talks on a political transition.

“Here in New York we will be seeking to harmonize as much as possible the opposition position with what we discussed in Vienna,” German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier said.

Under the Vienna process agreed last month, there would be a six-month political transition period once a ceasefire began — but the rebels have demanded that Assad step down immediately.

Russia has dismissed this idea and Kerry admitted this week in Moscow that it was a “non-starter.”

“The most important task is to move for- ward towards a real ceasefire,” Steinmeier added, in a broadcast by his ministry.

Aside from the hosts, the ISSG meeting brought together Britain, the UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, China, Egypt, Germany, France, Iran, Iraq and Italy.

The European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League were also represented.

Kerry traveled to Moscow this week to assure the Syrian leader’s key ally Russian President Vladimir Putin that Washington is not seeking “regime change” in Syria.

And in New York, the top US diplomat has sought to reassure Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir that the United States is not going soft on the Syrian strongman.

The high-stakes diplomatic balancing act aims to keep both Moscow and Riyadh on board as the ISSG aims to build momentum for peace talks and a ceasefire to start as early as January 1.

On the eve of UN talks, Assad warned in an interview with Dutch television that misguided efforts to bring about regime change would make the conflict “drag on.”

He argued that only backers Russia and Iran — not the West — were ready to resolve his country’s nearly five-year conflict.

If a ceasefire can be reached in Syria’s four-and-a-half-year-old civil war, then Syrian troops, Russia and a US-led coalition can focus their fire on the hardline