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Talks Only Way to End Syria Bloodshed, Kerry Says

by VOA News October 22, 2013

U.S. and British officials are again urging all sides in the Syrian conflict to sit down and talk, adding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will eventually have to step down.

Officials from 11 nations known as the Friends of Syria met Tuesday with members of the Syrian opposition in London.

Afterwards, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said officials agreed to ''pursue every avenue available to bring this tragic conflict to an end.'

'We believe the path of war will simply lead to the implosion of the state of Syria,' Kerry said. 'It will lead to the rise of extremist groups and extremism itself. It will lead to more refugees spilling over the borders and putting strains on surrounding countries. And it will further destabilize the region and lead ultimately to the disintegration of the Syrian state.'

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who hosted the meeting, also tried to ease concerns of Syrian opposition chief Ahmad Jarba that Syria's President Assad might find a way to hold onto power.

'We are as clear as he [Syrian opposition chief Ahmad Jarba] is that Assad has no role in a peaceful and democratic Syria,' Hague said.

Officials with the Syrian National Coalition have suggested they may boycott possible peace talks if Assad is not forced to step down.

Earlier, coalition spokesman Khalid Saleh spoke from the group's offices in Istanbul as the London talks got underway.

'We believe that there is a very important element that is missing from the Geneva Communique, it is very silent on the issue of what's going to happen to Bashar Assad during the transitional period, what's going to happen to him in a future Syria,' Saleh said. 'We have made it very clear: in order for us to have peace and stability, law and order in Syria, the person who is responsible for killing over 120,000 Syrians can not have place in a transitional government, can not have any place in a future political process in Syria.'

President Assad also cast doubts on possible peace talks in an interview that aired on Monday night on Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen TV.

'There is no date or factors that will help for it [the conference] to be held. Who are the groups that will participate in Geneva? What is their relationship with the Syrian people? Do they represent the Syrian people? Do they represent the country that made them?' Assad asked.

Assad also said he sees no reason why he should not run for reelection in 2014.

​​The fighting in Syria has killed more than 100,000 people and forced millions from their homes since March 2011.

Kerry has been working with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to try to arrange peace talks in Geneva by the end of next month.

Tuesday's meeting in London brought together officials from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.