Britain welcomes United Nations resolution on Syrian peace process

United States President Barack Obama on Friday reaffirmed USA insistence that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad step down, warning there can be no peace in Syria without a legitimate government.

Two other factions, the rebel-alligned al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group will be excluded from the talks.

The United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on Syria at the UN headquarters in New York, December 18, 2015.

During talks in NY on Friday, world leaders agreed on a draft process to bring an end to hostilities between Syrian rebels and Assad.

Speaking to the Middle East News Agency on the sidelines of the worldwide meeting on Syria in NY on Saturday, Shoukry stressed the need to unify efforts to launch the peace process between the Syrian government and opposition.

“We often hear the argument that without resolving the Assad question, it is impossible to truly co-ordinate in the fight against terrorism”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“The global community has now come together to work to end the bloody civil war in Syria and has paved the way for talks amongst the Syrian parties that will see a transition away from the murderous regime of Assad”, he said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed “the first resolution to focus on the political path to resolving the crisis”.

Security Council adopted unanimously on Friday a resolution on initiating a process of political transition in Syria.

The resolution further calls for the U.N.to present the council with options for monitoring a ceasefire within one month.

Assad reiterated his rejection of foreign calls for his resignation, saying it’s up to Syrian voters and not foreign politicians to decide who should lead Syria.

Russian Federation has rejected the possibility of Assad’s ousting to be a prerequisite for the start of talks between the forces in combat.

The document says talks on any change of power will be held in January.

“We’re under no illusions about the obstacles that exist… especially about the future of President Assad” where “sharp differences” remain, Kerry said.

“Despite the important step that we have taken with today’s resolution, despite the progress we have made in Vienna, despite the important steps forward taken at the meeting in Riyadh, there is still a very long way to go”.

More than 250,000 people have died since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions more have fled their homes.

Countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been supporting terrorist groups in Syria for years, Assad pointed out.