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| Assad is defiant ahead of peace discussion scheduled for Monday in Moscow | Assad is defiant ahead of peace discussion scheduled for Monday in Moscow |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BEIRUT — Syria’s president has played down expectations for a breakthrough during a peace conference for ending his country’s civil war that was scheduled to begin Monday in Moscow. | BEIRUT — Syria’s president has played down expectations for a breakthrough during a peace conference for ending his country’s civil war that was scheduled to begin Monday in Moscow. |
| In a defiant interview published Monday in Foreign Affairs magazine, Bashar al-Assad describes the Russia-led gathering as mere “preparations” rather than full-fledged talks for ending a conflict that has killed an estimated 220,000 people, wounded more than a million and displaced nearly half of Syria’s population. | |
| He also calls rebels who are backed by Western and Arab countries “puppets” in comments that cast further doubt over the Russian initiative, which many opposition groups, including the Turkey-based National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, have vowed to boycott. | |
| Even the special United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, would not be attending, his office confirmed. He has proposed his own plan for ending the conflict, which involves implementing local “freezes” in fighting between government and rebel forces. | |
| “What is going on in Moscow is not negotiations about the solution; it’s only preparations for the conference,” the Syrian president told the U.S. magazine, adding that he’s dismissive of negotiations with any group that he considers to be a “puppet of Qatar or Saudi Arabia or any Western country.” | “What is going on in Moscow is not negotiations about the solution; it’s only preparations for the conference,” the Syrian president told the U.S. magazine, adding that he’s dismissive of negotiations with any group that he considers to be a “puppet of Qatar or Saudi Arabia or any Western country.” |
| The four-day initiative is a result of weeks of diplomacy by Russia, which has joined Iran in aiding the Assad regime with money and weaponry against an uprising that began in 2011. The initiative has received tentative backing from U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who earlier this month said he hoped the Russian efforts “could be helpful.” | The four-day initiative is a result of weeks of diplomacy by Russia, which has joined Iran in aiding the Assad regime with money and weaponry against an uprising that began in 2011. The initiative has received tentative backing from U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who earlier this month said he hoped the Russian efforts “could be helpful.” |
| Analysts said Kerry’s comments suggest a shift in U.S. policy away from calling on Assad to step down as part of a solution to the Syria crisis. That shift, the analyst said, appears to be driven by rising concern in Washington over the ascendancy of radical groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s wing in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, which have wrested control of significant amounts of Syrian territory from moderate rebel groups. | Analysts said Kerry’s comments suggest a shift in U.S. policy away from calling on Assad to step down as part of a solution to the Syria crisis. That shift, the analyst said, appears to be driven by rising concern in Washington over the ascendancy of radical groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s wing in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, which have wrested control of significant amounts of Syrian territory from moderate rebel groups. |
| The U.S. leads a coalition of countries that has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria, as well as in Iraq, against the Islamic State. To the dismay of Syrian rebels, that coalition does not target Assad regime forces. | |
| On Monday, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, also sought to lower expectations of a breakthrough at the four-day meeting. At a news conference, the Associated Press reported, he said that these “are not talks; it is a meeting.” He added that the first phase of the discussions would be held among opposition figures, who would then form “common approaches toward talks with the government.” | On Monday, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, also sought to lower expectations of a breakthrough at the four-day meeting. At a news conference, the Associated Press reported, he said that these “are not talks; it is a meeting.” He added that the first phase of the discussions would be held among opposition figures, who would then form “common approaches toward talks with the government.” |
| And in yet another indication of the problems facing the Russian initiative, it was unclear exactly which opposition figures would be attending. | And in yet another indication of the problems facing the Russian initiative, it was unclear exactly which opposition figures would be attending. |
| Citing comments by Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, Syria’s state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported that 28 unspecified opposition representatives would be in attendance. Those figures could meet in the Russian capital Wednesday with Syrian government officials, the news agency reported. | |
| A spokeswoman for de Mistura confirmed that someone else from the U.N. envoy’s office would attend the Moscow talks. Earlier this month, de Mistura welcomed the Russian peace efforts as a “serious initiative.” | |
| “The office of the special envoy has not been involved in the preparations and invitations for this” meeting in Russia, said a Juliette S. Touma, spokeswoman for the de Mistura. | |
| In his interview with Foreign Affairs, Assad expresses apparent desire for cooperation with the U.S-led coalition that targets the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, saying that “potential is definitely always there.” But he faults Washington for a lack of seriousness in fighting extremists, alleging that it has not pressured Turkey to stop funneling aid to radicals inside Syria. | |
| “Did the United States put any pressure on Turkey to stop the support of al-Qaeda? They didn’t; they haven’t,” he says. | |
| In the interview, Assad also describes Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan — a harsh critic of the Syrian president – as “very fanatical” and a leader who “supports ISIS.” | |
| Both ISIS and ISIL are acronyms for the Islamic State. |