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Syria regime says Assad ouster ‘red line’ ahead of peace talks

By AFP - Mar 12,2016 - Last updated at Mar 12,2016

Abu Khair, a juice seller, poses for a photograph in Damascus, on Wednesday (Reuters photo)

DAMASCUS/BEIRUT — The Syrian government on Saturday said the ouster of President Bashar Assad remains a “red line” just two days ahead of renewed talks aimed at ending the conflict.

Leading members of the opposition delegation to the talks arrived in Geneva on Saturday, AFP correspondents in the Swiss city said. 

The UN-brokered negotiations are the latest push by the international community to find a solution to Syria’s five-year war, which has killed more than 270,000 people.

Both the government and the main opposition group, the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee, have agreed to attend the talks after the last round collapsed in February.

Chief opposition negotiator Mohammad Alloush and HNC delegation head Asaad Al Zoabi were in Geneva on Saturday.

“The regime was counting on the opposition not to come to Geneva... but it is here and it will have a united stance, vision and negotiating strategy,” said HNC delegation member Hassan Abdel Azim.

 

The HNC has repeatedly called for Assad’s departure at the start of any transitional period, but Syria’s foreign minister said that was out of the question.

“We will not talk with anyone who wants to discuss the presidency... Bashar Assad is a red line,” Walid Mouallem told a Damascus news conference.

“If they continue with this approach, there’s no reason for them to come to Geneva,” Mouallem said.

He said the government delegation would go to Switzerland on Sunday.

UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura said the meetings in Geneva would not last more than 10 days.

 

FM urges ‘unity government’ 

 

The negotiations would cover the formation of a new government, a fresh constitution and UN-monitored presidential and parliamentary elections within 18 months, the envoy said.

However, Mouallem said de Mistura had “no right” to discuss future presidential elections or any agenda items.

“Neither he nor anyone else, whoever they may be, has the right to discuss presidential elections,” Mouallem insisted.

“This right is exclusively for the Syrian people.”

Mouallem said the negotiations would aim to form a “unity government” which would then appoint a committee to either write a new constitution or amend the current one.

“Then we will have a referendum for the Syrian people to decide on it,” he said, adding that a federal division of Syria was not an option.

The opposition HNC has also insisted on Syria’s territorial unity, but says talks must create a “transitional governance body with full executive powers”.

On Saturday, De Mistura told Swiss newspaper Le Temps that although Syria’s Kurds were not invited to talks, they should be given the opportunity to voice their views on the country’s political future.

Regime backer Russia had called on de Mistura to include Syrian Kurdish representatives in peace talks.

Violence in Syria has decreased since a landmark ceasefire between the regime and rebels across parts of the country began two weeks ago.

 

Violence down 80 per cent 

 

Brokered by the United States and Russia, which back opposing sides in the conflict, the truce appears to be largely holding despite the warring sides accusing each other of violations.

Wrapping up a visit to Saudi Arabia Saturday, Kerry said that US and Russian officials would meet later in the day to discuss opposition complaints of truce violations.

“Our teams are meeting today with Russia in both Geneva and Amman, where very detailed lay downs will take place regarding these allegations,” he said.

Air raids by the Syrian regime killed seven civilians in rebel-held areas of second city Aleppo on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But Kerry said that “perceived” violations of the ceasefire should not derail the peace talks.

“The level of violence by all accounts has been reduced by 80 to 90 per cent, which is very, very significant,” he said.

Kerry told reporters on Saturday he had discussed developments in Syria with King Salman, top Saudi officials and Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

He said progress on the transitional government should take place “as soon as possible”.

“We believe that the start of talks this next week in Geneva presents a critical moment for bringing the political solution to the table that we’ve all been waiting for.” 

The UN’s top humanitarian officials on Friday said the truce had brought “fragile glimmers of hope” to the humanitarian situation in Syria.

“Fewer bombs are falling; humanitarian access has opened up in some places; negotiators from all sides are preparing to come together and talk,” the aid agency heads said in a joint statement.

But “it is just not enough”, they said, as other communities remain cut off from assistance. 

Meanwhile, a Syrian Islamist rebel group on Saturday shot down a regime warplane over a village in central Hama province, a monitoring group said.

A pro-government Facebook acknowledged that a MiG-21 warplane went down over Kafr Nabuda but said it was due to “technical difficulties”, denying it had been shot down.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Ahrar Al Sham fired two heat-seeking missiles at the military aircraft flying over Kafr Nabuda.

“The first missile missed but the second one struck the plane,” observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. 

He said the jet fighter crashed in government-held territory but that the fate of its crew remained unknown. 

The pro-government Facebook said the pilot of the MiG-21 “managed to eject safely” and was rescued by Syrian government forces.

Extremist groups and rebel fighters have brought down government warplanes several times.

 

In January 2015, Daesh shot down a regime aircraft over Damascus province, killing the pilot. 

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