Syria pres. holds talks with Lakhdar Brahimi
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on October 30, 2013, shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) meeting with UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has held talks with the UN-Arab League Special Envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, on the third day of his visit to the country.
The Wednesday meeting was aimed at making the preparations for the upcoming peace talks in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The planned conference, known as the Geneva 2, was proposed by Russia and the US on May 7. The date of the long-delayed event has changed many times as Syria’s foreign-backed opposition coalition remains divided over participating in the meeting.
During the talks held in the capital Damascus, the Syrian president said the most constructive way to end the conflict in the Arab country is to stop support for armed terrorist groups.
“Putting an end to support for the terrorists and pressuring the states that support them is the most important step to prepare… for dialogue,” Assad said, adding that, “The success of any political solution is linked to putting an end to support funnelled to terrorist groups.”
President Assad also said, that would lay the ground for dialogue and set up clear mechanisms to achieve all desired goals.
Brahimi arrived in Damascus on Monday as part of a Middle East tour to muster support for the Geneva 2 conference, which is scheduled to be held in November.
During the meeting, Brahimi briefed Assad on his tour of regional countries and efforts to help end the nearly three-year conflict.
On Sunday, more than twenty foreign-backed militant groups fighting against the Syrian government rejected the Geneva 2 conference.
The militant groups also warned that anyone who attends the Geneva 2 peace talks would be committing “treason, and … would have to answer for it before our courts.”
On October 24, the Syrian president cast doubt on the success of the upcoming meeting as “factors are not yet in place” for the event.
“Which forces are taking part? What relation do these forces have with the Syrian people? Do these forces represent the Syrian people, or do they represent the states that invented them?” he asked.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the US and Saudi Arabia, along with their Western and regional allies, are supporting the Takfiri groups operating inside the country.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.
MAM/MAM
Syria pres. holds talks with Brahimi
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