ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Syrian rebel delegates met in Kazakhstan Sunday on
the eve of their first talks with the government in a year, in which the two
sides hope to consolidate a cease-fire reached last month and deliver
humanitarian aid.The talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, are sponsored by Russia, Iran
and Turkey, and are the latest attempt to forge a political settlement to end a
war that has by most estimates killed more than 400,000 people since March 2011
and displaced more than half the country's population.
The U.N.'s Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is participating in the
talks, which are to be followed by more political talks in February in Geneva.
The new U.S. administration is not directly involved, because of the
"immediate demands of the transition," the State Department said
Saturday, but Washington will be represented by the U.S. ambassador to
Kazakhstan, George Krol.The opposition delegation, which arrived in Astana on Sunday, is made
up of about a dozen rebel figures led by Mohammad Alloush, of the powerful Army
of Islam rebel group. The Syrian government is sending its U.N. ambassador,
Bashar Ja'afari, and military delegates.
At the top of the agenda for the talks, which will be held at the Rixos
President Hotel, is an effort to consolidate a cease-fire brokered by Russia
and Turkey last month. The truce reached on Dec. 30, which excludes extremist
groups such as the Islamic State group and the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, has
reduced overall violence, but fighting continues on multiple fronts."If this can be achieved, this can help the political
process," said Yahya al-Aridi, a spokesman for the opposition delegation and
a member of the High Negotiations Committee, a political group which led the
opposition negotiating team to Geneva last year.
The scope of the aims reflects the constrained position of the
opposition, which last year was pushing for a political transition in Syria
that would exclude President Bashar Assad.Al-Aridi said there was no plan to discuss Assad's position before
addressing what he said were ongoing government violations of the Dec. 30
cease-fire.
"I don't think there's a context for that now. Nobody is ready for
this," al-Aridi told reporters in Astana. "We need a commitment to
that cease-fire," he said, suggesting the opposition is there to test the
other side's "good will.""If the other side doesn't care about stopping the bloodshed in
Syria, and cares most about staying in power at the expense of Syrian blood...
in that case, nothing will work," he said. Reflecting the enormous
distrust, he described the Iranians as "spoilers" and
"occupiers" and claimed they are not serious about the entire
process.
Iran and Russia have provided key financial and military support to
Assad's government, while Turkey has backed the opposition. Experts from all
three countries held an hours-long preparatory meeting Sunday in Astana.Aleksandr Musiyenko, spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Astana, told
reporters that the task at hand is "not an easy one.""I can only talk for the Russian delegation. Th?re is a real
fighting spirit, decisive, we are trying to find an agreement with everyone,
that's what we're striving for," he said.
The opposition has promised to highlight the government's harsh siege
tactics, which have cut off hundreds of thousands of Syrians from food and
medical access. In the Damascus suburbs such as Madaya, Zabadani and parts of
the central city of Homs and its environs, civilians have been under siege by
government forces since at least 2015.Turkey could play a crucial role in the latest attempt to resolve a
conflict that has confounded the world's diplomats for years. Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is embroiled in troubles at home and has moved closer to
Russia recently, prioritizing the fight against Kurds and the Islamic State
group over support for the Syrian rebels he has propped up for years.
Assad's forces meanwhile recaptured the northern city of Aleppo last
month with considerable Russian aid, dealing a devastating blow to the
opposition, which had held onto eastern parts of the city for four years.The talks will be closely followed in Syria and by the millions of
Syrian refugees scattered across the globe.
"If Turkey is now feeling the guilt over what it committed toward
the Syrian people, we hope that it will give at this conference something
positive, to speed up an end to the crisis," said Anas Farfouti, a
resident of Aleppo who supports Assad.
At Istanbul's Ataturk airport, journalists and delegates headed to
Astana shuffled past Syrians who have fled the country."If this war ends in five years, it will be a blessing," said
Fadwa, a Syrian in transit between a European country, where she was granted
asylum, and the region, where her relatives were still seeking onward passage.
She declined to give her last name, out of concern for the safety of relatives
still in Damascus.She accused both sides of prioritizing their foreign sponsors over the
protection of civilians, and said the war would drag on until foreign powers
"partition" Syria.Karam reported from Beirut. Associated Press reporter Bassem Mroue in
Aleppo, Syria, and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed.
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