Turkey: Peace in Syria requires Assad exit

The resolution endorses discussions between the Syrian government and opposition starting in early January.

The resolution approved on Friday gives a United Nations blessing to a plan negotiated previously in Vienna that calls for a ceasefire, talks between the Syrian government and opposition, and a roughly two-year timeline to create a unity government and hold elections.

But the country remains a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has continued to supply weapons to his regime despite global criticism.

“As a effect, our view has been that you can not bring peace to Syria, you can not get an end to the civil war unless you have a government that it is recognised as legitimate by a majority of that country”.

Assad has portrayed himself in recent interviews with the Western media as a protector of Syria’s minorities, saying his rule was an example of religious tolerance in a country threatened by Islamist insurgents who have taken swathes of territory and seek to impose their version of strict Islam.

“In January we hope and expect to be at the table and to be able to implement a full ceasefire”, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters.

But others have expressed doubts about the resolution’s effectiveness, as parties failed to reach consensus on some disputed questions… like the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

The council also endorsed to continue fighting to defeat the Islamic State group, which has seized large parts of both Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

The resolution calls the transition Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, stressing that the “Syrian people will decide the future of Syria”.

Kerry – who has “agreed to disagree” with Moscow on Assad’s fate – emphasised that victory over the Islamic State group hinges on a peaceful settlement in the broader Syrian civil war. Fabius said. “The idea that he could once again stand for elections is unacceptable to us”.

“So there is a possibility – I put it no higher than that – that Friday’s meeting will end with a UN Security Council resolution”. However, Western-backed groups were reported to have been hit.

Any halt to hostilities would not apply to air strikes against so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups, it makes clear, amid fears they could otherwise benefit.

Parry’s opinion piece came in response to a Washington Post editorial, chastising the Obama administration for what they see as an about-face following four years of a (failed) “Assad-must-go” strategy.

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.

Najib Ghadbian, the SNC’s envoy to the United Nations, said opposition groups need “a month or so” to prepare for the political talks that would begin in tandem with a ceasefire.