Russia and US call for Syria conference with both sides

Outcome of more than five hours of meetings essentially brings diplomatic efforts to halt violence to point they were a year ago

guardian.co.uk, Associated Press in Moscow, Tuesday 7 May 2013

US secretary of state John Kerry speaks with Russian foreign minister Sergei
Lavrov at a joint press conference in Moscow. Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA

The United States and Russia have pledged to set aside more than two years of differences over Syria's civil war, saying they'd convene an international conference later this month to try to corral President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the rebels into talks on a political transition.

Yet even as leaders from both countries hailed their joint strategy as proof of enhanced US-Russian cooperation, it was unclear how their plan might now prove effective in ending a war that has become even more dangerous in recent months, with accusations the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, Israeli air strikes on weapons convoys and American threats to begin arming the rebels.

The outcome of more than five hours of meetings in Moscow involving US secretary of state John Kerry and President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia essentially brings diplomatic efforts to halt Syria's violence to a point they were about a year ago. The former Cold War foes, who have split bitterly over how to halt the conflict, said they would work to revive a transition plan they laid out in June 2012, yet never gained momentum with Syria's government or the opposition. They said this time they were committed to bringing the Syrian government and rebels to the negotiating table.

Speaking about the US strategy, Kerry suggested the Obama administration would consider holding off on any possible plan to provide weapons to vetted units of the Syrian opposition if a peace strategy takes hold in the coming weeks.

That appeared to be a minor concession to Russia, which has argued vehemently against any foreign governments providing military assistance for fear it would aid extremists. Kerry also appeared to back down from the outright US demand that Assad step down in the transition, while maintaining that he, personally, couldn't see how a leader responsible for such widespread abuses could remain in power as part of a peace deal. More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict since March 2011, according to the United Nations.

Kerry said the international plan for a transition agreed to last year in Geneva must not be a "piece of paper", but rather "the roadmap" for peace.

The Geneva plan allowed each side to veto candidates it found unacceptable for an interim government. The plan never got off the ground, though Washington and Moscow differ over the reasons.

Speaking to reporters at a government guesthouse in Moscow, Lavrov praised the Assad regime for expressing its willingness to work on a political transition and its decision to establish a dialogue with all Syrians. He said the opposition, by contrast, "hasn't said a single word yet which would show their commitment".

"When we hear the right words from the opposition, given the fact that the regime has already voiced the right words, then we will try to convert such words into actions," Lavrov said.

Kerry took a different view.

He said the alternative to the political transition strategy was more violence, a Syria that "heads increasingly towards an abyss, a worse humanitarian crisis and possibly even ethnic cleansing and the breakup of the Syrian state". He said the opposition supports the peace plan and the transition strategy and that it was up to the government to make good on its obligations, also as they pertain to not using chemical weapons.

Kerry acknowledged that the final proof of whether Assad's forces used chemical weapons in two attacks in March, as suggested last week by a US intelligence assessment, would go a long way towards determining what course of action Barack Obama takes. Talking about the US-Russian peace strategy, he said, "much will depend on what happens over the course of these next weeks".

Lavrov also expressed concerns about chemical weapons' use, but stressed the need for clear facts before any course of action is rashly decided upon.

Neither official spoke about Israel's actions in recent days, which have included air strikes on what it says were weapons being readied for transfer to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel's increased involvement has created new complications for all actors in the war, given its long history of conflict with much of the Arab world.

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