U.S. Says Assad Will 'Never' be Part of Syria Peace Talks
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
U.S. officials Monday denied there were any plans to meet Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying he would "never" be part of any peace negotiations to end the brutal civil war.
Top U.S. diplomat John Kerry appeared to suggest in a weekend interview that Washington would have to talk with Assad eventually if peace was to be forged, but State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki moved to clarify that assertion.
"As we have long said, there always has been a need for representatives of the Assad regime to be a part of that process," said Psaki.
"It would not be, and would never be -- and it wasn't what Secretary Kerry was intending to imply -- that that would be Assad himself."
Kerry's comments had caused consternation abroad, but Psaki said Kerry "was using Assad as a shorthand" to mean the whole Damascus regime.
Kerry had been asked by CBS television if he would negotiate with Assad, and replied: "Well, we have to negotiate in the end," adding that "what we're pushing for is to get him to come" to talks.
The U.S. secretary of state, who met Assad on several occasions during his time as a senator, had stressed however that negotiations would be in the context of a 2012 Geneva communique which has called for a political transition in war-torn Syria.
Psaki added that the U.S. was guided by the wishes of the moderate Syrian opposition in its role as a facilitator of any peace talks and it had made clear it would not negotiate with Assad at the table.
"Obviously, it would need to be representatives of both the opposition and the regime at the table, the discussions between them is the most important component," she said.
But she stressed that there was "no process under way, and there's no process about to start, so it's purely hypothetical at this point."
The war is now in its fifth year and has claimed some 215,000 lives and left millions displaced both inside and outside Syria.
16 March 2015, 23:50
23
lol, you really have mental issues. we don't give a rat's a. what Peski says. The US is in no position to "spare" anyone nor do they have a vote when it comes to deciding who leads Syria. If they don't want to talk to the Syrian legitimate authorities, then they will be the ones left out of the dialogue. Let them continue arming and training nusrats and da3eshits, it's that much more fertilizer for Syria.
17 March 2015, 00:06
33
and btw, under the appearance of an official denial, she actually still confirmed what kerry said. read this:
"Obviously, it would need to be representatives of both the opposition and the regime at the table, the discussions between them is the most important component," she said.
Well duh! they wont talk to Assad, but to his representatives? And how is that different? And of course Assad wouldn't go in person to talk with those goons, if he ever wanted to talk to them he would send his representatives.
17 March 2015, 08:54
01
didnt need to "read & re-read", but you should try reading at least once, this way you wont be so far off all the time (hopefully)
17 March 2015, 02:08
42
To all you Syrian/Iranian bootlickers ,Sooner or later the Butcher is gonna get what he deserves, hung by his testicals in downtown Damascus, it's not a question of if but rather when.
17 March 2015, 08:24
12
By the way, they do not want to talk with Assad they now say. But they still wants to talk with his Government. That is a laugh.
17 March 2015, 14:41
00
The US positions has been pretty clear for those with open eyes. They will not endorse or accept assad as remaining president but they do not want the whole state structure to collapse which they fear would cause more chaos. They want to negotiate with the regime and for them to agree to transition power peacefully to a new, inclusive government. Unfortunately this is very naïve because assad will never go peacefully.
17 March 2015, 15:32
00
Yes but the US did not start the war in Syria. Neither did they in Yemen, Libya, Tunisia or Egypt. They are trying to influence events, as many other countries are also doing, but don't try to blame them for everything, or take credit away from the people themselves who sought to change their corrupt and tyrannical societies.
17 March 2015, 15:46
00
Indeed they have, which is a shame but not unlike what all countries do. But their immoral actions certainly don't justify the actions of assad or others like him.
