Iran repeats backing for Assad and rejects

peace talks with Syrian 'terrorists'

After the unanimous passage of UN Resolution 2254, Iran breaks the new
international unity over Syria

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad Photo: AFP

By David Blair-19 Dec 2015

Iran broke the international unity over Syria on Saturday by restating its support for
Bashar al-Assads regime and declaring that any rebels deemed terrorists should be
excluded from peace talks.
The 15 members of the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved
Resolution 2254 on Friday, setting out a plan for political transition in Syria.
The idea is that Mr Assads regime will open talks with rebel groups next month with
the aim of forming a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian government within six
months. This new administration would then hold free and fair elections to decide the
countrys leadership by mid-2017.
Russia and America joined forces to support this Resolution, in a rare moment of
agreement over how to end Syrias civil war.
But Iran, a key ally of Mr Assad, is not a member of the Security Council and had no
opportunity to vote on the Resolution.
Within hours of its passage, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian deputy foreign
minister, made clear his misgivings and resisted any suggestion of a political

transition. Iran will continue to support the Syrian regime, he said.

As for the proposed peace talks, Mr Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran was in favour of
negotiations, but added: Terrorist groups have no place in Syria's national dialogue.
The deputy minister gave warning there were severe differences over a list of terrorist
groups.
Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, left, and Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Moqdad
during a press conference in Damascus in September Photo: Louai Beshara/AFP

The question of which rebel movements count as legitimate interlocutors and which
are terrorists remains unresolved. Mr Assad routinely declares that all of his armed
opponents are terrorists. Iran appears to support his position.
But Resolution 2254 strongly implies that negotiations should include every rebel
group, except Jabhat al-Nusra, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (Isil).
The Resolution calls for the broadest possible spectrum of the opposition, chosen by
Syrians to join the talks. It also commends the usefulness of a meeting convened by
Saudi Arabia in Riyadh of every rebel force, except Jabhat al-Nusra and Isil.
Mr Amir-Abdollahians words suggest that Iran would oppose including such a broad
definition of rebel groups in the talks.
The question of Mr Assads future has also been left unresolved. The rebels may
jointly insist on a timetable for his departure before they join any negotiations.
Philip Hammond with John Kerry and Ban Ki-moon before a meeting of the Security

Council at the United Nations Headquarters Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, said the Resolution created "movement" and
momentum towards peace talks, adding: We are confident that the opposition will
engage with the process, but they will expect that during that first six month period,
between now and the beginning of the transitional government, that we will have a
clear roadmap during that period for a transition away from the Bashar al-Assad
regime.
Mr Hammond told the BBC: Our challenge over the next two or three months will be
to reconcile the different views of the different parties round the table on that issue and come up with something that everybody can live with.
Another key question is whether Mr Assad will allow his regime to join any peace talks,
particularly as he describes all his armed enemies as terrorists.
Russias military intervention in Syria, which began on Sept 30, probably rescued Mr
Assad from being overthrown. Mr Hammond said this gave Russia the muscle to
ensure that Mr Assads regime attends the negotiations. They [Russia] have the
responsibility to bring Assad to the table and to keep Assad at the table and
negotiating in good faith, he said.
President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia was willing to escalate its
campaign in Syria. "We see how efficiently our pilots and intelligence agents
coordinate their efforts with various kinds of forces - the army, navy and aviation, how
they use the most modern weapons," he said. "I want to stress that these are by far
not all of our capabilities. We have more military means. And we will use them - if need
be.
Posted by Thavam