Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. GPS News .




WAR REPORT
Peace envoy says Assad could contribute to 'new' Syria
by Staff Writers
Beirut (AFP) Oct 28, 2013


UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who arrived in Damascus Monday, believes President Bashar al-Assad could contribute to the transition to a "new" Syria, but not as the country's leader.

Brahimi, who was in Syria on the latest leg of a regional tour to rally support for peace talks, spoke about Assad in an interview in Paris with the Jeune Afrique website published Monday.

"Many of those around (Assad) believe his candidacy (for a new presidential term in 2014) is a fact. He considers this an absolute right... He thinks above all of completing his mandate," the veteran Algerian diplomat said.

However, "what history teaches us is that after a crisis like this there is no going back. President Assad could therefore usefully contribute to the transition from the Syria of before, that of his father (the late president Hafez al-Assad) and himself, to what I call the new Republic of Syria."

Brahimi said the US-Russian accord to dismantle Syria's chemical arsenal had transformed Assad from a "pariah" into a "partner" and convinced his supporters even more of his ability to prevail.

Brahimi also faces an uphill battle in convincing the fractured opposition to attend the Geneva talks, after 19 Islamist rebel groups warned that anyone taking part in the talks would be considered a traitor.

"This conference is the beginning of a process. We hope that the opposition will manage to agree on a credible and representative delegation," Brahimi said.

"We should not delude ourselves: the entire world will not be present. But as the process continues, it should include as much of the world as possible."

Brahimi, a veteran international troubleshooter, said he feared that if a settlement could not be reached Syria may become a failed state like Somalia, which has not had a functioning government for two decades.

"The real threat in Syria is not the partition of the country. The real danger is a sort of "Somalisation," but even more deep and lasting than what we have seen in Somalia."

.


Related Links






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WAR REPORT
Protest against Iraq PM blocks highway to Syria, Jorda
Ramadi, Iraq (AFP) Dec 23, 2012
About 2,000 Iraqi protesters, demanding the ouster of premier Nuri al-Maliki, blocked on Sunday a highway in western Iraq leading to Syria and Jordan, an AFP correspondent reported. The protesters, including local officials, religious and tribal leaders, turned out in Ramadi, the capital of Sunni province of Anbar, to demonstrate against the arrest of nine guards of Finance Minister Rafa al- ... read more


WAR REPORT
Small changes in ag practices could reduce produce-borne illness

Veterinary scientists track the origin of a deadly emerging pig virus in US

Vetch cover crop, fertilizer practices recommended for organic zucchini

Outside View: China's ownership of an iconic American food company

WAR REPORT
JQI team 'gets the edge' on photon transport in silicon

Atomically Thin Device Promises New Class of Electronics

Tiny Sensors Put the Squeeze on Light

Quantum conductors benefit from growth on smooth foundations

WAR REPORT
Boeing, Lockheed team up for new US Air Force bomber

The Effects of Space Weather on Aviation

Space ballooning: 20-mile-high flights offered for $75K

Boeing Begins Assembling 3rd KC-46A Tanker Aircraft

WAR REPORT
Proposed car system could alleviate unexplained traffic jams

China's Dongfeng mulls 'rationality' of Peugeot move

Eight U.S. states in agreement to promote zero-emission vehicles

Eight states to aim for 3.3 million zero-emission cars

WAR REPORT
World Bank: Singapore, Hong Kong best for business

Greenland awards first big mining exploitation license

US firms lukewarm on doing business in China: lobby

Brazilians protest over loss of textile jobs to China

WAR REPORT
Gold mining is ravaging Peruvian Amazon: study

Working wood locally in Congo basin poses challenge

Gum leaves rich in lil' gold nuggets

Risk of Amazon rainforest dieback is higher than IPCC projects

WAR REPORT
Hi-tech aqueduct explorers map Rome's 'final frontier'

NASA satellites help track volcanic ash affecting air travel

New evidence on lightning strikes

How Earth's rotation affects vortices in nature

WAR REPORT
Scientists untangle nanotubes to release their potential in the electronics industry

Nano-Cone Textures Generate Extremely "Robust" Water-Repellent Surfaces

Newly discovered mechanism propels micromotors

Densest array of carbon nanotubes grown to date




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement