A document issued on November 26, 2013 by Syria’s key opposition the National Coalition revealed that the former U.S. Ambassador to Damascus Mr. Robert Ford had told the NC officials that Geneva II will be without pre-conditions or guarantees.
The American diplomat said that some of the Alawite officers in the regular army, "are looking for gains regarding to the high loss for their sect (when Bashar al-Assad will be ousted),’’ as well some of the regime figures who may stay according to the document which has obtained by Zaman Alwasl.
Ford assured to the west backed opposition that the Russian President Vladimir Putin is the first Russian official regarding the Syrian case, not the Foreign Ministry in hint to Sergei Lavrov.
The Scheduled peace conference on January 22 in Montreux hotel in Switzerland is, in essence, a media presence for Syrian opposition, according to Ford, to show that Syrian revolution is not represented by the radical Islamists, where both sides, opposition and the regime, can sit together as equals.’’
A prominent opposition figure said that Ford told Some NC members, ''What the Syrian parties will agree on in Geneva will be achieved,'' adding, each party has the right to veto on any discussion or subject.
Two days ago, The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, urged opposition groups to attend this month's peace talks, saying there was no alternative for a political solution.
"There is no other political solution," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on behalf of the group. "There will be no political solution for Syria unless 'Geneva 2' meets."
An internationally sponsored meeting bringing Assad's government and opposition groups to the table is due to be held from January 22 in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
In a final statement, the 11 core Friends of Syria nations urged the Syrian National Coalition to attend the talks. The grouping of Western-backed rebels is deeply divided on whether to go and will announce a decision on January 17.
"We urge the National Coalition to respond positively to the invitation to set up the Syrian opposition delegation sent by the U.N. Secretary General," the Friends said in a joint communique.
"We invite them to form, as soon as possible, a delegation of opposition forces to participate in the political process."
Coalition President Ahmed al-Jarba, who attended the Paris meeting, did not say whether he believed the Coalition would send a delegation, but said he was reassured that the 11 nations had agreed that there could be no transition if Assad remained in power.
"We are all in agreement to say that Assad has no future in Syria," he said.
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