VIENNA – Obama administration, Russia and a group of European and Middle East states are preparing to stage an international meeting on Syria as early as next Friday to accelerate efforts to end the civil war in the country, Secretary of State John Kerry said, carried out by the WSJ on Oct. 23.
Mr. Kerry said any effort to end more than four years of fighting in Syria must have the backing of the Mideast’s major military and political powers.
“We want to be inclusive and err on the side of inclusivity,” Mr. Kerry said following a meeting in the Austrian capital with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia. “Sometimes these things have a way of resolving itself. We are starting at a very advanced place.”
The key issue dividing the major powers remains the future of Assad. The U.S. and its European and Arab allies insist that a peaceful solution is impossible while Assad remains in power. The Arab dictator has used chemical weapons and barrel bombs against his people, according to outside observers, leaving hundreds of thousands dead.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said following the meeting that divisions remain about the future of Mr. Assad, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.
“There still remain some gaps with regards to the departure of Assad and the timing of such a departure,” Mr. al-Jubeir said. “We will continue such conversations perhaps with a broader range of countries in order to see if we arrive at a consensus on the way forward for Syria.”
Mr. Kerry and other U.S. officials have expressed hopes the Russians will agree to a political transition that will eventually see Assad exit Syria’s political scene, even if he is allowed to remain in office in that time.
“The fate of the Syrian president must be decided by the Syrian people,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Vienna on Friday after announcing the agreement with Jordan.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey are major backers of insurgent groups that have been fighting against the Syrian regime.