The Geneva peace talks aimed at bringing an end to the war in Syria opened on the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict. The future role of Bashar al-Assad after a transition to peace remains unclear.
The talks in Geneva mark the latest attempt at ending the war in Syria which to date has killed more than 270,000 people while displacing millions.
The last round of such talks had collapsed on February 3, 2016 largely due to disagreements on Assad’s future role in the country and the unlikely prospect of fair elections being held within 18 months.
Salem Mislet, spokesman of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) indicated that the Syrian opposition would only discuss the establishment of a transitional governing body in which Bashar Assad and his associates would have no role.
“The Syrian people have submitted half a million martyrs not to keep Assad in power for a longer period but in order to terminate his presence, and to put an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and also to put an end to the terrorism that targeted the region,” he declared.

But shortly before the negotiations were due to start, US Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Syrian leadership of “clearly trying to disrupt the process” for saying that the removal of the regime would remain a “red line” not to be crossed, according to Syrian Foreign Minister.
Kerry also urged Syria’s key ally Russia to bring Damascus into line on this particular issue.
France’s new Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault added that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallam’s refusal to discuss deposing Assad amounted to a “provocation” in the peace efforts for Syria.
“There will be no political process if the opposition is not closely involved and confident,” he said.
Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations’ special envoy for the Syria crisis, warned that there was no alternative to bringing the Syrian crisis to an end through the talks.
“The only Plan B available is a return to war – and an even worse war,” de Mistura said at the start of the talks.
Five years on, no end in sight
The success of the Syrian peace talks largely hinge upon cooperation among regional and international powers as well. Iran and Russia have been delivering weapons to the Syrian regime with, while the US, Europe, and Saudi Arabia have been backing the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army.
However, about half of Syrian territory remains controlled by jihadists from the self-styled “Islamic State” (IS) organization or the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.
Clashing interests between Russia and the US have dubbed the conflict a new “Cold War” as Moscow and Washington continue to expand their influence in the region in what could be seen as a proxy war, drawing in regional powers such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Source: DW, AFP, AP, 14 March 2016