Syria rejects SNC demand for transitional government
Iran Press TV
Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:19PM GMT
Syria has ruled out the formation of a transitional government in the violence-wracked country as the Geneva II talks on the Syria crisis inch closer to a deadlock.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said on Friday that Damascus will not agree to the opposition demand to form a transitional government.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem also warned that the Syrian delegation will leave Geneva unless serious talks are held by Saturday.
The comments came shortly after the so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC) announced that it will not meet with the government delegation until Damascus accepts the Geneva I communiqué of June 2012 on power transition.
Earlier in the day, Alessandra Vellucci, a United Nations spokesperson, stated that Brahimi will hold separate meetings with the representatives of the Syrian government and the SNC on Friday.
The Wednesday session of the Geneva II conference ended in bitter exchanges and disagreements between the representatives of the Syrian government and the SNC.
The SNC and its Western supporters insist that President Bashar al-Assad must step down and a transitional government be formed in Syria.
However, Damascus dismisses such a demand, arguing that the foreign-backed coalition does not represent the Syrian opposition.
Russia, a major player in the talks, has also rejected claims the Geneva II conference must result in a regime change in Syria.
On January 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Russian-US initiative did not envisage a regime change, and that it was a false interpretation of the agreements reached in the Geneva I talks.
MRS/AB/SS
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