Philip Hammond: UN approval for Syria resolution points to real progress

Talks between Syria’s government and opposition should begin in early January, the resolution said. The resolution however did not touch on the question of Assad’s fate.

He said such a ceasefire “won’t be flawless, but allows all the parties to turn on what should be our number one focus and that is destroying Islamic State militant group and its allies in the region”.

The resolution “undermines the outcome of the meetings of revolutionary forces in Riyadh and waters down previous United Nations resolutions concerning a political solution in Syria”, coalition head Khaled Khoja said on Twitter.

No amount of Vienna meetings or Geneva communiqués can stop the war in Syria unless the root causes of the conflict are addressed.

Talks between the government and opposition groups could start as early as January, according to the resolution.

Lavrov, at a joint press conference with his USA counterpart John Kerry and UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan De Mistura, described UN Security Council resolution No. 2254 on Syria as “excellent and good”.

The war in Syria began in March 2011, killing more than 250,000 people and forcing millions to flee the war-torn country.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the adopted UN Security Council resolution stipulates that only the Syrian people can determine their own future, including the fate of Assad.

“Turkey will continue to contribute to the planned political process in this regard”, the statement said.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said he presented lists submitted from each country of groups they consider terrorist organizations.

“If the responsible countries take actions against the flood and the flow of terrorists and the logistic support, I can guarantee that it will take less than one year”, he said, explaining that the terrorist groups don’t have genuine public support in Syria.

Mr Hammond told MPs on Wednesday that the meeting was being held in NY rather than Vienna ” specifically to be able to go immediately to the United Nations Security Council if it becomes clear during the morning that it is possible to reach an agreement that the Russians will not veto in the UN Security Council.

Iran will also “support inter-Syrian dialogue” aimed at ending the conflict, he said in remarks carried on Saturday (Dec 19) by the official IRNA news agency.

“It is this which will enable all Syrians to decide how and by whom they are governed in future”.

On the eve of the talks, Assad warned in an interview with Dutch television that misguided efforts to bring about regime change would make the conflict “drag on”.

Saudi Arabia achieved a commendable deed when it successfully managed to get Syrian opposition groups to unify their ranks and elect a former prime minister to be their spokesman.