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January 13, 2014

Syrian Opposition Undecided as Geneva Talks Near 
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An international peace conference for Syria is set to begin next week in
Geneva. But the summit remains in doubt as Syrian opposition groups have
yet to confirm their attendance. The main exile group, the Syrian
National Coalition, has postponed a vote until later this week amidst
continued internal disputes. On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry
said he expects the opposition's involvement.

Secretary of State John Kerry: "We had a very constructive meeting
today, he had very constructive comments to make about it and I am
confident that he and others will be in Geneva in order to pursue this
negotiation and with respect to the Assad regime, we have been told that
from day one they allegedly are prepared to negotiate and Mr. Lavrov on
several occasions said they will be prepared to be there. So, I am
counting on both parties as well as the 30-plus or so other nations to
come together in an effort to end this violence described earlier."

The United Nations and Russia have both called for an Iranian role in
the talks, but the Obama administration continues to claim Tehran would
not be taking part. Speaking last week, Kerry said Iran could
potentially "contribute from the sidelines."

 

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