Syria Opposition Fleshes out Post-Assad Plan in London
Syria's opposition set out detailed plans Wednesday for the transition to a democratic state without President Bashar Assad ahead of talks with ministers of EU, U.S. and regional powers in London.
The broad-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC) proposed a six-month negotiating phase between the regime and the opposition.
The subsequent 18 months would see Syria governed by a transitional body, made up of opposition figures, current government representatives and members of civil society, according to a 25-page blueprint.
"Syria wants to see Bashar leave. If Bashar leaves will the fighting go on? No," HNC head Riad Hijab said.
The proposals, and the talks hosted by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, come after intense discussions by the United States and Russia over a possible path to end the five and a half year conflict.
An agreement was believed to have been close at the G20 summit earlier this week in China, but Washington then admitted no deal could be announced for the moment.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the talks in London via videolink, but Russia is not represented.
"The aim of the meeting in London is to prepare a common position and make the case to the United States, while there are persistent rumors about the conclusion of a U.S.-Russian deal," a French diplomatic source told AFP.
French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault, attending the London talks, said he backed new U.S.-Russia discussions.
"We are supporting the process, although we want a genuine ceasefire," he said in London.
The HNC's plans are largely in line with existing international proposals for a post-war Syria, although unlike the so-called Vienna framework, they are clear about the president's future.
"The establishment of the Transitional Governing Body shall require the departure of Bashar Assad and his clique who committed heinous crimes against the Syrian people," it said.
The goal is "building a political system that protects freedoms, safeguards individual rights, and that is founded upon the principles of liberty, equality, citizenship, and justice", it said.
- Britain criticizes Russia -
In an article in Wednesday's edition of The Times, Johnson urged Moscow to cease support for the Syrian president.
The British diplomat accused Assad of "barbaric military tactics" in the ongoing conflict and criticized Russia's "seemingly indefensible conduct" in backing him.
"The entire international community is committed, at least in principle, to getting rid of the Syrian dictator. Even the Russians have accepted that there must be political transition," he wrote.
"But then the Russians are also employing their military muscle to prevent him from losing and to keep him in power."
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, whose country backs the opposition, said the HNC was going further than before in outlining its vision for a post-Assad Syria.
"There is no reason, no excuse for anyone to say that they don't have a plan or that their plan is not rational," he told the BBC ahead of the meeting.
The talks were also due to involve foreign ministers from Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Italy and France, as well as representatives of Germany and the EU.
They come as the armed opposition inside Syria is losing ground on multiple fronts, including becoming besieged once again in Aleppo city.
The war, which began as a pro-democracy revolt but later morphed into a conflict after the regime unleashed a crackdown, has killed more than 290,000 people and forced more than half the population to flee their homes.
Source: Agence France Presse
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