Philip Hammond hails ‘important step’ in Syria peace process

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the United States and Saudi Arabia wanted “terrorist groups” to join peace talks proposed by world powers, and that nobody in Syria would accept such talks, in an interview transcript published by state media.

The official Syrian newspaper, Al-Baath, says the Saudi government has “tailored the opposition to suit its own agendas” and those of Israel, while state TV repeats Iranian condemnation of Islamist “terror groups” attending the meeting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the West’s insistence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step aside before it works more closely with Russia in the fight against Islamic State is a “huge mistake”.

The Geneva communique is a document agreed at a peace conference in 2012 that drew up baselines for a Syria peace deal including the formation of a transitional governing body with executive powers.

The meeting called for the preservation of the Syrian state institutions and rejection of all forms and manisfestations of terrorism, said Abu Zaid, who concluded that all these values and principles dovetailed with those propounded in Cairo’s conference for the Syrian opposition which took place last June.

The regime should also end “the forced displacement” of citizens and the dropping of “barrel bombs on civilian gatherings”, it said.

The composition of the committee was not immediately clear.

The member of the National Coalition opposition group added the group would include six from rebel factions, six from the coalition, eight independent figures and five from the NCB.

The largest bloc at the meeting, with around 20 delegates, is the Western-backed opposition group known as the Syrian National Coalition. The US has also called on Mr. Assad to step down, but has appeared to soften its stance on when that has to happen.

In a press conference late Thursday, members of the Syrian opposition announced that there would be a meeting with representatives of the Syrian regime in January.

“Terrorist groups pretending to be moderate opponents (of the regime) and seeking to determine the future of Syria and the region will not be permitted”, Abdollahian said in remarks quoted by state television.

A few hours later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to repeat Putin’s assertion, saying: “Russia supplies weapons to the legitimate authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic”.

Riyadh has been among those calling most strongly for Assad s departure and on Thursday Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir insisted again that he must leave.

Since it began in March 2011, Syria s conflict has left more than 250,000 dead and forced millions from their homes.