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| Kerry Urges Syrian Rebels to Go to Peace Meeting | Kerry Urges Syrian Rebels to Go to Peace Meeting |
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| ROME — Secretary of State John Kerry told the Syrian opposition that support for the group could be reduced if it decided not to attend the coming peace conference in Switzerland, Western officials said on Tuesday. | ROME — Secretary of State John Kerry told the Syrian opposition that support for the group could be reduced if it decided not to attend the coming peace conference in Switzerland, Western officials said on Tuesday. |
| Mr. Kerry and a team of senior American officials met on Monday in Paris with Ahmad Assi al-Jarba, the president of the Syrian opposition coalition that the West is backing, and other opposition figures. | Mr. Kerry and a team of senior American officials met on Monday in Paris with Ahmad Assi al-Jarba, the president of the Syrian opposition coalition that the West is backing, and other opposition figures. |
| The rebel coalition has been concerned that its influence within Syria, which is already limited, will be undermined further if it participates in a drawn-out peace conference that does not lead to any results. | |
| The United States has sought to assuage the opposition’s concerns by emphasizing that a number of “confidence building” measures might be instituted before the meeting, like opening humanitarian aid corridors to besieged areas and establishing local cease-fires that might preclude the Syrian government’s bombardment of the northern city of Aleppo. | |
| Mr. Kerry has also hinted that the Obama administration may move soon to restore the flow of nonlethal assistance to the opposition coalition. It was recently cut off because of concerns that some supplies had been captured in Syria by an Islamist group. | |
| “We have been considering the renewal of that assistance to the opposition,” Mr. Kerry told reporters on Sunday. “We know it’s important, we know they need it, and we’re beginning to believe we may be in a place where that can now resume, and we would obviously want to get back to where we were.” | “We have been considering the renewal of that assistance to the opposition,” Mr. Kerry told reporters on Sunday. “We know it’s important, we know they need it, and we’re beginning to believe we may be in a place where that can now resume, and we would obviously want to get back to where we were.” |
| The opposition coalition plans to decide this week whether to attend the peace conference, which is scheduled to begin in Switzerland on Jan. 22. The goal of the conference for the United States is to establish arrangements for a transitional administration that would govern Syria if President Bashar al-Assad can be persuaded to yield power. One worry of the opposition is that no deadline has been established for achieving results. | |
| Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said Mr. Kerry had delivered a message about the stakes involved but did not state directly that the United States had already decided to cut off aid if the opposition did not attend. | |
| “Secretary Kerry made clear privately, as he has many times publicly, that there are high stakes at play for the S.O.C.,” Ms. Psaki said, using the abbreviation for the coalition, and “the international community strongly believes that it is in their interests and the interests of the Syrian people for them to send a representative delegation to the conference.” She added, “He did not indicate that the United States was planning to cut off assistance.” | “Secretary Kerry made clear privately, as he has many times publicly, that there are high stakes at play for the S.O.C.,” Ms. Psaki said, using the abbreviation for the coalition, and “the international community strongly believes that it is in their interests and the interests of the Syrian people for them to send a representative delegation to the conference.” She added, “He did not indicate that the United States was planning to cut off assistance.” |
| Mr. Kerry’s argument to the opposition is that it could lose aid and that the Assad government would benefit if it did not attend. But a decision on specifically what aid might be cut does not appear to have been made. | Mr. Kerry’s argument to the opposition is that it could lose aid and that the Assad government would benefit if it did not attend. But a decision on specifically what aid might be cut does not appear to have been made. |
| After his consultations on plans for the Syria peace conference in Paris, Mr. Kerry flew to Rome to meet with the Vatican’s senior foreign policy official, Pietro Parolin, and brief him about the Obama administration’s push for a Middle East peace agreement, among other issues. | After his consultations on plans for the Syria peace conference in Paris, Mr. Kerry flew to Rome to meet with the Vatican’s senior foreign policy official, Pietro Parolin, and brief him about the Obama administration’s push for a Middle East peace agreement, among other issues. |
| Pope Francis picked Archbishop Parolin to serve as his secretary of state in a move that was seen as an effort to put his mark on the Vatican’s foreign policy. | Pope Francis picked Archbishop Parolin to serve as his secretary of state in a move that was seen as an effort to put his mark on the Vatican’s foreign policy. |
| Pope Francis is planning a trip in May to Israel and Jordan, and Mr. Kerry is seeking the Vatican’s support for his push to secure a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Kerry said in brief remarks after his Vatican meeting that he was pleased that the pope “will continue to speak out about peace in the Middle East. | Pope Francis is planning a trip in May to Israel and Jordan, and Mr. Kerry is seeking the Vatican’s support for his push to secure a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Kerry said in brief remarks after his Vatican meeting that he was pleased that the pope “will continue to speak out about peace in the Middle East. |
| “There are issues of enormous concern to the Holy See, not just about peace, but also about the freedom of access for religious worship in Jerusalem for all religions and appropriate resolution with respect to Jerusalem that respects that going forward,” Mr. Kerry said. | “There are issues of enormous concern to the Holy See, not just about peace, but also about the freedom of access for religious worship in Jerusalem for all religions and appropriate resolution with respect to Jerusalem that respects that going forward,” Mr. Kerry said. |
| Mr. Kerry was the first Roman Catholic secretary of state since Edmund S. Muskie to visit the Vatican. The trip was arranged several days ago as a stop on Mr. Kerry’s way to Kuwait, where he is going to a donors’ conference on Syria. Mr. Kerry did not meet with the pope. | |
| In addition to the Middle East, Mr. Kerry said his discussions with Archbishop Parolin dealt with a wide range of issues, including South Sudan, which has a large Catholic population. Mr. Kerry also said the Vatican was trying to help obtain the release of Alan Gross, an American who has been detained in Cuba since his arrest there in 2009. | |
| Another subject was Syria. In a recent address to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, the pope expressed his support for the peace conference, an endorsement Mr. Kerry welcomed in brief remarks after his meeting. | Another subject was Syria. In a recent address to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, the pope expressed his support for the peace conference, an endorsement Mr. Kerry welcomed in brief remarks after his meeting. |