Paris attacks result of France’s ‘flawed’ Middle East policy: Bashar al-Assad

Diplomats meeting in Vienna have agreed on a timeline for a political transition in Syria that is aimed at ending the country’s civil war.

The Paris attacks shifted the focus of negotiations in Vienna from the detail of which organisations would count as opposition groups rather than terrorist ones, and could therefore take part in a political solution in Syria, to defeating Islamic State militarily.

Within six months, the negotiations between the Syrian sides are to establish “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian” transitional government that would set a schedule for drafting a new constitution and holding a free and fair U.N.-supervised election within 18 months, according to a joint statement released by the United Nations on behalf of the 19 parties to the talks. The rise of extremist groups in the Syrian conflict have compelled opponents and supporters of the Assad government to renew peace efforts, and Friday’s attacks in Paris are poised to add even more urgency. Holding a poster with the words “We stand with Paris”, she said her group had sympathy for the people in France. But Western powers say those strikes have mainly targeted armed groups other than Islamic State, such as pro-Western rebel militias. That process is to be completed by the time the political process between the government and opposition begins in January. They also failed to agree on Assad’s role in the transition. Diplomatically, France was also critical of Al-Assad, who recently proposed a resolution at the United Nations to stop barrel bombs attacks on Syrian civilians.

“We still differ, obviously, on the issue of what happens with Bashar al-Assad”, Kerry said.

In addition to supporting the Syrian opposition since the start of the anti-regime protests in 2011, France is carrying out strikes in Syria, as well as being a founding member of the US-led coalition to fight IS.

Steinmeier spoke at the end of a daylong meeting of almost 20 countries represented by foreign ministers and their deputies seeking to end Syria’s war. Europe, meanwhile, is struggling to cope with the worst migrant crisis since World War II.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Jordan would oversee a process that would identify which groups should be considered for identification as terrorists.

Friday night’s attacks in Paris should bring all countries together and give a new meaning to the talks on the Syrian peace, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in Vienna on Saturday.

A British Government source said: “The G20 offers an opportunity for a number of the important players in Syria to be their together and to have a few discussions about the way forward, following on from the foreign ministers’ discussions in Vienna”.