Friends of Syria: Geneva Talks Only Option for Peace
France's top diplomat says ministers from 11 Western and Gulf Arab countries meeting in Paris Sunday agreed that the only way to achieve a political solution in Syria is for peace talks scheduled for next week in Switzerland to take place.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was speaking on behalf of the Friends of Syria, an alliance of nations that support the Syrian opposition. He said the object of the upcoming conference was to set up a transitional government for Syria "with full executive powers."
But the president of the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Jarba, speaking alongside Fabius, did not indicate whether the SNC would attend the "Geneva 2" talks in the Swiss town of Montreux.
The SNC, a loose confederation of Western-backed rebels, is deeply divided on whether to go and said it will announce a decision on January 17.
Calling the Paris meeting a "turning point in the Syrian crisis," Jarba said the Friends of Syria group agreed unanimously that "Mr. Assad and his family have no future in Syria."
Meanwhile, activists said rebel-on-rebel clashes have killed nearly 700 people over the past nine days in northern Syria - the worst infighting among the opponents of President Bashar al-Assad since the country's civil war began.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll includes 351 fighters from Islamist and mainstream opposition brigades, 246 from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and 100 civilians.
ISIL has alienated other rebel factions and civilians in the territory under its control by using brutal tactics to implement its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It has also kidnapped and killed its opponents.
While the rebel infighting has grabbed the spotlight over the past nine days, the fight against the government has raged on across the country. Assad's forces advanced along a key road Sunday near the divided city of Aleppo.
fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/friends-of-syria-geneva-talks-only-option-for-peace/1828407.html
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was speaking on behalf of the Friends of Syria, an alliance of nations that support the Syrian opposition. He said the object of the upcoming conference was to set up a transitional government for Syria "with full executive powers."
But the president of the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Jarba, speaking alongside Fabius, did not indicate whether the SNC would attend the "Geneva 2" talks in the Swiss town of Montreux.
The SNC, a loose confederation of Western-backed rebels, is deeply divided on whether to go and said it will announce a decision on January 17.
Calling the Paris meeting a "turning point in the Syrian crisis," Jarba said the Friends of Syria group agreed unanimously that "Mr. Assad and his family have no future in Syria."
Meanwhile, activists said rebel-on-rebel clashes have killed nearly 700 people over the past nine days in northern Syria - the worst infighting among the opponents of President Bashar al-Assad since the country's civil war began.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll includes 351 fighters from Islamist and mainstream opposition brigades, 246 from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and 100 civilians.
ISIL has alienated other rebel factions and civilians in the territory under its control by using brutal tactics to implement its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It has also kidnapped and killed its opponents.
While the rebel infighting has grabbed the spotlight over the past nine days, the fight against the government has raged on across the country. Assad's forces advanced along a key road Sunday near the divided city of Aleppo.
fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/friends-of-syria-geneva-talks-only-option-for-peace/1828407.html
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