Kerry, Lavrov Throw Weight behind Syria Talks

Local Editor

Russia and the United States said Wednesday that the internationally brokered talks between Syria's government and opposition groups should start this month as planned, despite no sign of agreement on who should represent the opposition factions.

Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said that peace talks might not start as planned in Geneva on Jan. 25 but that major powers must maintain diplomatic pressure on the warring sides to come to the table.

He further mentioned that he would know Sunday whether the negotiations could start the next day, but added that they had to be "serious talks about peace" linked to "concrete demonstrations" such as cease-fires and aid convoys.

For his part, Iranian FM, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said there could be no military solution to the war in Syria and vowed to throw Tehran's weight behind a political solution.

Zarif added that his country believed a cease-fire in Syria was required before a national unity government could be set up and elections based on a new constitution held.

Earlier Wednesday, after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry in Switzerland, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said neither of them thought about seeking a postponement of the talks, which are scheduled to start in Geneva on Jan. 25.

Although various dates were being mooted, Lavrov said the final decision was for the UN Secretary General on the advice of de Mistura.

Relatively, Kerry's spokesman, John Kirby, said Kerry and Lavrov discussed "the importance of maintaining progress toward a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria."

Kirby noted that Kerry also pressed Russia to use its influence with President Bashar Assad to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to Syrians, especially those in besieged areas where people are reported to have died from starvation.

In parallel, the UN said Monday it would not issue invitations to the talks until major powers promoting the negotiations, which include the US and Russia, agree which rebel representatives should attend.

Although Russia, the US and other parties supporting the Syrian talks would not take part in the negotiations, however they would "follow them in those forms which will be most useful for the Syrians to reach agreements, how they will jointly solve the problems of the transition period, what the new constitution will look like, how to prepare new elections and many other issues," according to Lavrov.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team