UN endorses peace process for Syria, but no mention of Assad

The 15-nation Security Council was scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) to discuss Syria, and it was not yet clear whether they would have a resolution to adopt.

“Only a Syrian-led, inclusive dialogue can put an end to the untold suffering of the Syrian people”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the Security council.

But the resolution adopted Friday makes no mention of the most contentious issue – the future role of Syrian President Bashar Assad. “It will be complicated”.

“We are under no illusions about the obstacles that exist”. “The time is now to stop the killing in Syria and to lay the groundwork for a government the people of that battered land can support”. The plan would also include a ceasefire. He said his country has seen “no lists we can agree upon” of Syrian opposition groups that should be included in peace negotiations, or of Syrian groups that should be considered terrorist organizations instead. “We are going into negotiations on this principle, we are not entering talks based on anything else”.

“I reiterate the readiness of the Syrian government to participate effectively on any honest effort where the Syrians will determine their choices through dialogue under Syrian leadership and not foreign intervention”, he said, adding that all countries should coordinate with his government. “A fleeting opportunity for peace has emerged; your duty is to seize it”, said the United Nations chief.

The Geneva Communique called for political transition in Syria and Tehran never formally embraced it because of the implication that it could mean the end of Assad.

“We hope this process will not be protracted ad infinitum”, Lavrov said.

The UN Security Council approved a resolution Friday calling for a cease-fire and political talks starting next month for ending the civil war in Syria.

USA and European officials say that Assad has lost credibility due to persistent repression and rights abuses and can not run in any elections along the lines major powers agreed in two ministerial meetings in Vienna.

Council diplomats said they aimed to clinch an agreement on a text. Meanwhile, Russia, which has veto power in the council, continues to provide military support to Assad. Earlier in Moscow, he indicated that gaps between the USA and Russian Federation have narrowed, saying “we did reach some common ground today and agreement with respect to the complexity of this issue of terrorist groups”.

A complicating factor in the war is the Islamic State, which has largely refrained from attacking Syrian government forces but poses a threat to US allies in the region and to the U.S.-backed opposition rebels fighting Assad.

“You can’t defeat Daesh without also de-escalating the fight in Syria”, Kerry said in Moscow, using another name for ISIS.

It acknowledged the close linkage between a ceasefire and a parallel political process, with the former to come into effect as soon as the sides have begun initial steps towards a political transition under United Nations auspices.

The Riyadh conference agreed to set up a 34-member secretariat to supervise peace talks, and that committee will also select the opposition’s negotiating team.

Until this year, the United States, Britain and France insisted that Mr Assad must go.

Obama has drawn fire on his approach to Syria from Republican presidential candidates who say he has left a leadership vacuum that Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to fill.