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| In Syria Talks, Even the Smallest Details Are Negotiated | |
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| MONTREUX, Switzerland — As the opposing Syrian delegations began moving to Geneva for new talks scheduled for Friday, Lakhdar Brahimi, the international mediator, was meeting separately with both sides on Thursday to lay the ground for face-to-face talks, reflecting the daunting challenges of seeking a political resolution to Syria’s highly polarized conflict. | MONTREUX, Switzerland — As the opposing Syrian delegations began moving to Geneva for new talks scheduled for Friday, Lakhdar Brahimi, the international mediator, was meeting separately with both sides on Thursday to lay the ground for face-to-face talks, reflecting the daunting challenges of seeking a political resolution to Syria’s highly polarized conflict. |
| The last-minute scramble came because the opposition delegation was named only a few days ago amid internal disagreements. Mr. Brahimi, the joint Syria envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League, had initially planned to hold preparatory meetings with the delegations in December to establish how the talks could be conducted and where there might be potential for agreement. | The last-minute scramble came because the opposition delegation was named only a few days ago amid internal disagreements. Mr. Brahimi, the joint Syria envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League, had initially planned to hold preparatory meetings with the delegations in December to establish how the talks could be conducted and where there might be potential for agreement. |
| Late on Wednesday, Mr. Brahimi said he had indications that the sides might be ready to talk about prisoner exchanges and cease-fires. Yet the very act of sitting down at a table together remains something that requires “talks about talks” to set up. | Late on Wednesday, Mr. Brahimi said he had indications that the sides might be ready to talk about prisoner exchanges and cease-fires. Yet the very act of sitting down at a table together remains something that requires “talks about talks” to set up. |
| In an interview Wednesday night, Fayssal Mekdad, the Syrian deputy foreign minister, said the two sides would sit facing each other, each behind its own long table, with Mr. Brahimi in the middle — a plan that sounded as if it could have been conceived to allow the sides to say they had not sat at one table together. | In an interview Wednesday night, Fayssal Mekdad, the Syrian deputy foreign minister, said the two sides would sit facing each other, each behind its own long table, with Mr. Brahimi in the middle — a plan that sounded as if it could have been conceived to allow the sides to say they had not sat at one table together. |
| Such issues of protocol loomed similarly large at the opening talks to Wednesday, participants said later. There were no flags displayed at the plenary session, they said, to avoid a situation in which the official Syrian flag stood side by side with the flag of the uprising, an earlier iteration from the country’s first postcolonial government. And the opposition delegation arrived a few minutes late, members said, in part to avoid shaking hands with the government delegation. | Such issues of protocol loomed similarly large at the opening talks to Wednesday, participants said later. There were no flags displayed at the plenary session, they said, to avoid a situation in which the official Syrian flag stood side by side with the flag of the uprising, an earlier iteration from the country’s first postcolonial government. And the opposition delegation arrived a few minutes late, members said, in part to avoid shaking hands with the government delegation. |
| From its early moments on Wednesday, the conference on Syria was marked by acrimony, when Syria’s foreign minister described Syrian rebels as “evil” and ignored appeals by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, to avoid invective or even to yield the floor. | From its early moments on Wednesday, the conference on Syria was marked by acrimony, when Syria’s foreign minister described Syrian rebels as “evil” and ignored appeals by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, to avoid invective or even to yield the floor. |
| By the end of the day, the sense that the new peace talks were headed for trouble was compounded when the proceedings ended without any hint of progress toward imposing local cease-fires or opening humanitarian corridors for the delivery of food and medicine to besieged towns and cities. | By the end of the day, the sense that the new peace talks were headed for trouble was compounded when the proceedings ended without any hint of progress toward imposing local cease-fires or opening humanitarian corridors for the delivery of food and medicine to besieged towns and cities. |
| At an evening news conference here, Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, said stopping terrorism, not sharing power, needed to be the priority when the two sides sat down on Friday to discuss a political solution to the bloody conflict, a stance that also appeared to promise more confrontation. | At an evening news conference here, Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, said stopping terrorism, not sharing power, needed to be the priority when the two sides sat down on Friday to discuss a political solution to the bloody conflict, a stance that also appeared to promise more confrontation. |
| Putting the best face on the meeting, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Wednesday night that it was significant that senior diplomats from 40 countries and organizations had gathered in the lakeside Swiss city of Montreux to initiate the conference. Mr. Kerry insisted that he had always known that the talks would be “tough” and described the conference as a process, which he implied could last for months or even years. | Putting the best face on the meeting, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Wednesday night that it was significant that senior diplomats from 40 countries and organizations had gathered in the lakeside Swiss city of Montreux to initiate the conference. Mr. Kerry insisted that he had always known that the talks would be “tough” and described the conference as a process, which he implied could last for months or even years. |
| Several Syrians also expressed hope that the conference signaled the start of a process in which Syrians might eventually overcome their differences. | Several Syrians also expressed hope that the conference signaled the start of a process in which Syrians might eventually overcome their differences. |
| “It’s a historic moment,” said Ibrahim al-Hamidi, a veteran journalist for the Saudi-owned newspaper Al Hayat who is originally from the northern Syrian city of Idlib. “After three years of military struggle, when the opposition tried very hard to destroy the regime, and the regime tried very hard to crush the opposition, this is the first time the two delegations sit down in one room under U.N. auspices.” | “It’s a historic moment,” said Ibrahim al-Hamidi, a veteran journalist for the Saudi-owned newspaper Al Hayat who is originally from the northern Syrian city of Idlib. “After three years of military struggle, when the opposition tried very hard to destroy the regime, and the regime tried very hard to crush the opposition, this is the first time the two delegations sit down in one room under U.N. auspices.” |
| But it was hard to escape the sense that the conditions for a productive negotiation between the Syrian government and the opposition had yet to be set. Mr. Kerry tried to set a positive tone on the eve of the conference by engaging in a calculated display of comity with Mr. Ban and Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister — a gesture that appeared intended to play down the lobbying effort by the United States to persuade the United Nations to withdraw its invitation to Iran to attend the meeting. “Do we look happy?” Mr. Lavrov said as the three held hands for a photo. | But it was hard to escape the sense that the conditions for a productive negotiation between the Syrian government and the opposition had yet to be set. Mr. Kerry tried to set a positive tone on the eve of the conference by engaging in a calculated display of comity with Mr. Ban and Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister — a gesture that appeared intended to play down the lobbying effort by the United States to persuade the United Nations to withdraw its invitation to Iran to attend the meeting. “Do we look happy?” Mr. Lavrov said as the three held hands for a photo. |
| But when the conference opened on Wednesday sharp differences came to the fore. Mr. Kerry said it was unthinkable that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria could play a role in a transitional administration that would govern the country as part of a political settlement. The establishment of such a transitional body by “mutual consent” of the Assad government and the Syrian opposition is the major goal of the conference. “The right to lead a country does not come from torture, nor barrel bombs, nor Scud missiles,” Mr. Kerry said. | But when the conference opened on Wednesday sharp differences came to the fore. Mr. Kerry said it was unthinkable that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria could play a role in a transitional administration that would govern the country as part of a political settlement. The establishment of such a transitional body by “mutual consent” of the Assad government and the Syrian opposition is the major goal of the conference. “The right to lead a country does not come from torture, nor barrel bombs, nor Scud missiles,” Mr. Kerry said. |
| Mr. Lavrov challenged the American insistence that Mr. Assad be excluded from a transitional administration, arguing that the conference had to “refrain from any attempt to predetermine the outcome of the process.” | Mr. Lavrov challenged the American insistence that Mr. Assad be excluded from a transitional administration, arguing that the conference had to “refrain from any attempt to predetermine the outcome of the process.” |
| While the stark differences between the American and Russian positions were outlined in civil tones, that diplomatic restraint was abandoned when Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister, who will lead the Syrian government’s face-to-face talks with the opposition, took the floor and accused Arab nations of financing terrorism and conspiring to destroy his country. | While the stark differences between the American and Russian positions were outlined in civil tones, that diplomatic restraint was abandoned when Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister, who will lead the Syrian government’s face-to-face talks with the opposition, took the floor and accused Arab nations of financing terrorism and conspiring to destroy his country. |
| Speaking for more than 30 minutes, Mr. Moallem also accused insurgents of “sexual jihad” by using brainwashed women as sex slaves and engaging in incest. When Mr. Ban asked that Mr. Moallem wind up his lengthy speech, the Syrian official shot back, “You live in New York, I live in Syria.” | Speaking for more than 30 minutes, Mr. Moallem also accused insurgents of “sexual jihad” by using brainwashed women as sex slaves and engaging in incest. When Mr. Ban asked that Mr. Moallem wind up his lengthy speech, the Syrian official shot back, “You live in New York, I live in Syria.” |