Bashar al-Assad dismisses US request to take part in Syria talks [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Bashar al-Assad has rejected calls by the US secretary of state that he should take part in talks, insisting that “declarations from outside do not concern us”. But then John Kerry himself faced criticism for “alienating” US allies.
Assad’s rebuff came after Kerry declared on Sunday that the US would “have to negotiate in the end” with the Damascus regime – a remark that immediately generated alarm in the Gulf states – which are determined to see him overthrown – and gloom among western supporters of a more robust US policy.
France and Turkey insisted Assad could not be part of a negotiated solution to the crisis. Britain’s position is similar – though no statement was made repeating it. Kerry also conspicuously failed to repeat the standard US line that Assad had “lost all legitimacy” over the four-year civil war in Syria and so had to go.
Still, his headline-grabbing remarks to CBS News were quickly qualified by a State Department spokeswoman, who insisted that the US view had not in fact changed. “There is no future for a brutal dictator like Assad in Syria,” said Marie Harf. The format for talks remained the Geneva conference, whose second and last session ended without results over a year ago. If talks were to resume they would certainly again include Syrian government ministers, though not Assad.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/16/bashar-al-assad-dismisses-us-claim-to-take-part-in-syria-talks
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