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| Drive for Syria Peace Talks Resumes in Geneva | Drive for Syria Peace Talks Resumes in Geneva |
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| GENEVA — Senior officials of the United Nations, the United States and Russia began a series of meetings in Geneva on Friday to review prospects for a second international conference aimed at ending the fighting and starting a process of political transition in Syria. | |
| Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy, started the process by meeting Assistant Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman of the United States and Russian deputy foreign ministers Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov. The talks were to broaden later to include senior diplomats from other permanent members of the Security Council together with the European Union, the Arab League and four countries bordering Syria — Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. | |
| Mr. Brahimi has said previously that he hoped to have the names of the delegates to be sent to what is known as Geneva II by the Syrian government and by the opposition before the end of this month so that he can discuss an agenda with both sides. The conference is to open in the Swiss town of Montreux on Jan. 22 before moving to Geneva. | Mr. Brahimi has said previously that he hoped to have the names of the delegates to be sent to what is known as Geneva II by the Syrian government and by the opposition before the end of this month so that he can discuss an agenda with both sides. The conference is to open in the Swiss town of Montreux on Jan. 22 before moving to Geneva. |
| Overshadowing the talks, however, is a level of disarray among opposition groups most recently exposed in the seizure of a Free Syrian Army depot by Islamist rebels, calling into question the opposition’s ability to pull together a delegation with sufficient credentials to negotiate credibly with the government. | Overshadowing the talks, however, is a level of disarray among opposition groups most recently exposed in the seizure of a Free Syrian Army depot by Islamist rebels, calling into question the opposition’s ability to pull together a delegation with sufficient credentials to negotiate credibly with the government. |
| Militant rebels in the Islamic Front have rejected the authority of the moderate opposition backed by the West, ruled out participation in peace talks with the government and this week rebuffed efforts by Robert S. Ford, the American ambassador to Syria and the senior State Department official dealing with the Syrian opposition, to arrange a meeting. | Militant rebels in the Islamic Front have rejected the authority of the moderate opposition backed by the West, ruled out participation in peace talks with the government and this week rebuffed efforts by Robert S. Ford, the American ambassador to Syria and the senior State Department official dealing with the Syrian opposition, to arrange a meeting. |
| If the opposition succeeds in forming a credible delegation, little clarity has yet emerged on the likely substance of the talks, with opposition groups aiming to negotiate a political transition in Syria that would leave no role for President Bashar al-Assad. The government, however, has made clear it has no intention of going to Geneva to hand over power. | If the opposition succeeds in forming a credible delegation, little clarity has yet emerged on the likely substance of the talks, with opposition groups aiming to negotiate a political transition in Syria that would leave no role for President Bashar al-Assad. The government, however, has made clear it has no intention of going to Geneva to hand over power. |
| Mr. Brahimi and the other officials who are meeting on Friday also still have to resolve the question of whether to invite Iran. Mr. Brahimi has long called for Iran’s participation as a regional player. Last month’s interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program has strengthened Tehran’s credentials but allowing it to join Geneva II has faced fierce resistance from Iran’s rival, Saudi Arabia. | Mr. Brahimi and the other officials who are meeting on Friday also still have to resolve the question of whether to invite Iran. Mr. Brahimi has long called for Iran’s participation as a regional player. Last month’s interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program has strengthened Tehran’s credentials but allowing it to join Geneva II has faced fierce resistance from Iran’s rival, Saudi Arabia. |