Turkey says stability in Syria possible only after departure of Assad

Syrian President Bashar al Assad attended Christmas choir preparations in an ancient church close to a frontline area in the capital Damascus where his army is engaged in heavy fighting with rebels, state media said on Saturday.

This would include, but may not be limited to, the Islamic State group and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front.

Foreign ministers from 17 countries met on and off for more than five hours to overcome divisions on the text.

The resolution 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.

“This marks a very important step on which we must build”, Ban said of Friday’s resolution.

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

Mr Hammond took a swipe at Russian Federation over what the West says is its deliberate targeting of moderate Syrian opposition forces in air strikes.

“It is my firm belief and the belief of the experts in this administration, that so long as Assad is there, we can not achieve that kind of stability inside of Syria”, Obama told reporters at his year ender news conference on Friday. Diplomats said the main problem in the negotiations on the resolution involved Russian and Iranian concerns about how to refer to a bloc of opposition groups that would join U.N.-led peace talks with the Syrian government.

The United Nations Security Council reached agreement Friday on a plan that aims to end civil war in Syria.

Meanwhile, Anas Joudeh, a Syrian opposition figure, said the resolution has several ambiguous points that need to have clear mechanism, including the issue of naming the terrorist groups, which was expected to be done at the world powers’ meeting in NY. He urged key powers, including top Syria allies Russian Federation and Iran, to match their words with actions.

“Now I think there will be follow-up steps in terms of countries meeting again to set criteria which will help filter the list”, said Judeh, whose country is tasked with putting the final list together.

Egypt rejects foreign interference in Syria, Shoukry said, noting that this is only meant to serve certain political interests.

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”.

The other group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the airstrikes killed 14 people.