No talk of transition: Syrian official

BEIRUT: A senior Syrian official rejected on Tuesday the idea of a “transitional period” sought by Western states that want President Bashar Al Assad removed from power, saying during a visit to Iran that an expanded government was being discussed.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also said Damascus had not received official notice of any meeting with members of the Syrian opposition, after a Russian official said Moscow might bring them together next week.

“We are talking about a national dialogue in Syria and an expanded government and a constitutional process.

We are not at all talking about what is called a transitional period,” Mekdad said.

That idea existed “only in the minds of those who do not live in reality”, he added.

His comments from Tehran, broadcast by Syrian state TV, mark the first detailed Syrian government remarks since foreign powers that support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war - including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States - met in Vienna on Friday in an effort to revive peacemaking.

The intensified diplomacy has followed Russia’s military intervention on the side of Assad, with Moscow talking of the need for political progress towards ending a war that has killed 250,000 people and created millions of refugees since 2011.

But there is no sign of a breakthrough on the biggest obstacle standing in the way of diplomatic efforts: The question of Assad’s future.