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                 Diplomats to Discuss Syrian Peace Talks Plans

   by VOA News

   U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is meeting Tuesday with
   diplomats from the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to
   discuss preparations for a Syrian peace conference.
   The talks in Geneva are taking place in two sessions. Brahimi's first
   meeting is with Russia's deputy foreign minister and the U.S.
   undersecretary of state for political affairs, after which he will be
   taking part in a wider meeting that includes officials from Britain,
   China and France.
   The U.S. and Russia have been working with Brahimi for months to try to
   arrange the conference for the Syrian government and opposition to
   negotiate a political transition to end the country's crisis.
   However, disagreements about the framework have led to repeated delays
   and no date has yet been set.
   On Monday, Syria's state-run SANA news agency quoted Information
   Minister Omran al-Zohbi as saying the government will not take part in
   any peace talks that require President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
   Meanwhile, members of the Syrian opposition have insisted that
   negotiations cannot take place unless there is a clear plan for Assad's
   departure.
   Also on Tuesday, the Security Council will hear its first update on the
   ongoing operation to destroy all of Syria's chemical weapons.
   Dutch diplomat Sigrid Kaag, who is heading up the U.N. mission, is due
   to give a closed-door briefing days after inspectors declared that
   Syria has destroyed its capability to make any new chemical arms.
   The Syrian government has until November 15 to present a plan for how
   it will destroy its existing stockpile of chemical weapons by the
   middle of next year.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/diplomats-to-discuss-syrian-peace-tal
   ks-plans/1783656.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/diplomats-to-discuss-syrian-peace-talks-plans/1783656.html