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| Syrian Official Says Peace Talks Could Resume Nov. 23 | Syrian Official Says Peace Talks Could Resume Nov. 23 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| LONDON — A Syrian government official said Thursday that long-postponed peace talks under international auspices — known in diplomatic shorthand as Geneva II — could be held in November, raising speculation about who would attend and who would represent the fractured opposition seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. | LONDON — A Syrian government official said Thursday that long-postponed peace talks under international auspices — known in diplomatic shorthand as Geneva II — could be held in November, raising speculation about who would attend and who would represent the fractured opposition seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. |
| The official, Qadri Jamil, a deputy prime minister, said in Moscow that the discussions could be held in Geneva on Nov. 23, according to SANA, the official Syrian news agency. Some reports from Moscow quoted him as saying the talks could extend into Nov. 24. | The official, Qadri Jamil, a deputy prime minister, said in Moscow that the discussions could be held in Geneva on Nov. 23, according to SANA, the official Syrian news agency. Some reports from Moscow quoted him as saying the talks could extend into Nov. 24. |
| It was the first public suggestion that a date had been set and reflected the heightened pace of diplomacy since Moscow and Washington brokered a deal in September for the Syrian government to dismantle its chemical weapons stocks. But the question of which countries and factions would attend remained largely unanswered, and the fighting continues with no clear outcome in sight. There was no immediate confirmation of the date from other protagonists in the crisis. | It was the first public suggestion that a date had been set and reflected the heightened pace of diplomacy since Moscow and Washington brokered a deal in September for the Syrian government to dismantle its chemical weapons stocks. But the question of which countries and factions would attend remained largely unanswered, and the fighting continues with no clear outcome in sight. There was no immediate confirmation of the date from other protagonists in the crisis. |
| Mr. Jamil was speaking after what were called “good and fruitful” talks with Russia’s Middle East envoy, Mikhail Bogdanov, SANA said. | Mr. Jamil was speaking after what were called “good and fruitful” talks with Russia’s Middle East envoy, Mikhail Bogdanov, SANA said. |
| Mr. Jamil is one of two government ministers from officially tolerated opposition parties who have been appointed since Syria’s crisis mushroomed from civil unrest in March 2011 to a full-blown civil war that has claimed at least 100,000 lives. While he is often seen as having little or no authority over government policy, the fact that his remarks on Thursday were carried by the state news agency suggested they had some kind of imprimatur. | Mr. Jamil is one of two government ministers from officially tolerated opposition parties who have been appointed since Syria’s crisis mushroomed from civil unrest in March 2011 to a full-blown civil war that has claimed at least 100,000 lives. While he is often seen as having little or no authority over government policy, the fact that his remarks on Thursday were carried by the state news agency suggested they had some kind of imprimatur. |
| In the first round of discussions in Geneva in June 2012, major world powers failed to reach a consensus on the key issue of calling for the ouster of President Assad, a demand advanced by opposition groups in return for attending any peace negotiations. The meeting of nine nations agreed instead on a plan for a political transition, with Russia and China blocking attempts by other participants to require Mr. Assad’s removal from power. | In the first round of discussions in Geneva in June 2012, major world powers failed to reach a consensus on the key issue of calling for the ouster of President Assad, a demand advanced by opposition groups in return for attending any peace negotiations. The meeting of nine nations agreed instead on a plan for a political transition, with Russia and China blocking attempts by other participants to require Mr. Assad’s removal from power. |
| Mr. Jamil said the Geneva II conference would aim to establish “a government that represents the basic sides of the government and the opposition,” SANA reported. | Mr. Jamil said the Geneva II conference would aim to establish “a government that represents the basic sides of the government and the opposition,” SANA reported. |
| “The international conference on Syria means stopping foreign intervention and violence and launching political work through dialogue and reconciliation,” he said, accusing the Syrian opposition of delaying the gathering. Groups that “fail to attend will lose,” he was quoted as saying. | |
| The United States and Russia have been trying to convene the gathering since May. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said last month that he was hoping to convene a peace conference in Geneva in mid-November. | The United States and Russia have been trying to convene the gathering since May. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said last month that he was hoping to convene a peace conference in Geneva in mid-November. |
| Ahmad al-Jarba, president of the Syrian opposition coalition, said at a news conference in New York in late September that he was prepared to participate in new peace talks but wanted assurances of a “clear timetable” for achieving results, not “an open-ended dialogue with the regime.” | Ahmad al-Jarba, president of the Syrian opposition coalition, said at a news conference in New York in late September that he was prepared to participate in new peace talks but wanted assurances of a “clear timetable” for achieving results, not “an open-ended dialogue with the regime.” |
| Mr. Jarba’s coalition suffered a blow last month when about a dozen rebel groups inside Syria repudiated their ties with it, saying that its members, living in exile, were detached from the fighting inside the country. | Mr. Jarba’s coalition suffered a blow last month when about a dozen rebel groups inside Syria repudiated their ties with it, saying that its members, living in exile, were detached from the fighting inside the country. |