NOVANEWS
“We need all to put an end to the terrorism and the violence because the political settlement cannot go hand-in-hand with the terrorism,” Bashar al-Ja’afari said in a press conference after the first day of the Geneva II conference came to an end in the Swiss city of Montreux on Wednesday.
Ja’afari added that talks between the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition, due to be held in Geneva on Friday, are mainly aimed at “implementing the provisions of the Geneva I” conference, which was held in June 2012.
The Syrian UN ambassador called the statements made during the first day of the talks counter-productive, repetitive and based on hatred towards Damascus.
“So, we had today 40 countries seemingly pre-selected in a way that most of them would be anti-Syrian delegations, meaning that they are coming from governments, who do have hostile policies towards the Syrian government,” he said.
In his opening statement during the conference, US Secretary of State John Kerry called for a regime change in Syria, insisting that President Bashar al-Assad should not be part of a transitional government.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem rejected Kerry’s assertion, saying only Syrians have the right to choose their president.
The Geneva II conference is scheduled to move to the UN headquarters in Geneva on Friday.
The talks are aimed at finding a political solution to the deadly crisis that has gripped Syria since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside the country.
