Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem (left) took a swipe at countries supporting rebels [Reuters]
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Syria's foreign minister has said that his government will take part in a peace conference in Geneva, terming it a "good opportunity for a political solution" to the civil war in Syria. Walid Muallem also praised an Iraqi army operation against Sunni armed groups near the border with Syria, during a surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday.  President Bashar al-Assad's regime had agreed "in principle to participate in the international conference which is supposed to be convened in Geneva" in June, Muallem said.
"We think... that the international conference represents a good opportunity for a political solution to the crisis in Syria."
Opposition divided An opposition spokesman reiterated the National Coalition's position that any settlement must exclude Assad. "We are ready to enter into negotiations that are aimed towards transferring power to the people, towards a democratic transition. And that of course means Assad cannot be a part of Syria in the future," Louay Safi told reporters. Syrian opposition leaders meeting in the Turkish city of Istanbul announced plans early on Monday to expand their coalition with eight new members. Syrian National Council spokesman Khaled al-Saleh also said the group is expected to elect its new leader later on Monday. "In principle, our position was to welcome the international [peace] initiative," Safi said. But "the regime has yet to state a position on its willingness to leave" power, he added. Muallem also took a swipe at countries supporting rebels who are locked in a bloody civil war with Assad's regime, saying that "the regional countries that conspire against Syria are the same that support terrorism in Iraq." Moscow, a key all of Assad, said earlier in the week that Damascus had agreed to take part in the conference. An exact date for the conference has not been set yet because of what Moscow described as a lack of unity among Syria's opposition. Officials in the main opposition Syrian National Coalition have signalled readiness to attend the conference, but said they first wanted guarantees that Assad would step down eventually. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are due to meet in Paris on Monday for further talks regarding Syria. Washington and Moscow unveiled earlier this month a plan to bring both Damascus and the opposition to the table to negotiate an end to the country's 26-month conflict, which the United Nations estimates has left at least 80,000 people dead. |