Geneva II Battle: Failure is staring at Brahimi and “Friends of Syria” in the face

“If what happened in Geneva 2 continues in Geneva 4,4,5.6,7, then after 20, 30 years, BANDAR BIN AHMAD BIN JARBA (Son of Jarba), would ask TARIK BIN WALID AL-MOAALIM (Son of Moaalim) to confice HAFEZ BIN BASHAR AL-ASSAD (Son of Bashar) to quit. – Mohammad Sadick Al-Husaini,

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Published Friday, February 14, 2014Al-Akhbar

Updates at 4:45 pm: Syria’s warring sides are due to end another round of peace talks in Geneva Friday, with hopes of progress dim as the foes remain mired in blame-trading over the violence ravaging their country.

The gridlock, which has seen the rivals fail to even agree on an agenda for the talks, has prompted Washington and Moscow to use their clout with their respective allies to help revive the process.

A Western diplomat said prospects were “grim” as the second round of talks drew to a close, and UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi admitted that “failure is always staring at us in the face.”

“Until now, we are not making much progress,” Brahimi said Thursday after meeting high-level diplomats from Russia and the United States.

Washington, which backs the opposition, and Moscow, a key ally of the Syrian government, “promised that they will help both here and in their capitals and elsewhere to unblock the situation for us,” said Brahimi.

The so-called Geneva II negotiations, which began on January 22, have so far done nothing to end the nearly three-year civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives and forced millions from their homes.

Syria’s foes did not meet Thursday, and were expected to hold only separate meetings with Brahimi on Friday.

“We expected that the talks would be difficult. We didn’t expect that (the parties) would be unable to compromise on an agenda, and that frankly is not good. That’s a very bad omen for the process,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be identified.

The talks, which started Monday, have achieved little more than an endless restating of positions and trading of accusations.

The opposition National Coalition maintains that the only way forward is to create a transitional government that can guide Syria towards peace, without President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish citizens in Switzerland express denunciation of terrorism in Syria

The government, however, says Assad’s future is not up for discussion, and insists the top priority of the talks must be halting the violence and “terrorism,” which it blames squarely on its opponents and their foreign backers.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the opposition on Friday of seeking “regime change” and said the creation of a transitional governing body must not be the sole focus of peace talks.

Lavrov said there were ongoing attempts to derail the talks and suggested the opposition and its backers were to blame, saying warnings that the negotiations could not go on forever were neither constructive nor logical after only two rounds.

Brahimi has attempted to find a middle ground, suggesting that the parties discuss the two issues in parallel.

But the government delegation has so far refused, insisting it would be catastrophic to touch on politics before completely resolving the “terrorism” issue.

“There is no hint of flexibility on the Syrian government position,” the diplomat said, warning that without “an agreement on an agenda, I don’t know how Brahimi will uphold a round three.”

Brahimi himself has said he has “tons of patience” and that he would “certainly not leave one stone unturned if there is a possibility to move forward.”

But the diplomat cautioned: “I would not assume he will stay indefinitely,” pointing out that the Algerian peacemaker might have “concerns about his own credibility” if he allows the process to continue turning like a broken record with no progress in sight.

If the parties are unable to announce Friday that they have agreed upon an agenda, “the prospects look much dimmer than they did a week ago… It is very grim,” the diplomat said.

Opposition chief negotiator Hadi Bahra told AFP that Russia and the United States needed to “pressure the regime to be more serious.”

Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faisal Meqdad, meanwhile told AFP “all the pressure should be put on the other side.”

Al-Moallem meeting Gatilov: We are committed to implementing Geneva 1 communiqué with seriousness and responsibility

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov met the government delegation chief, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, on Wednesday, and the opposition delegation met US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Thursday evening.

It was unclear though if they could push the sides closer to actual dialogue.

Opposition delegation member Badr Jamous told AFP: “Things are not positive … I don’t think there will be a third round.”

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos hailed the evacuation of civilians from the besieged Syrian city of Homs, but expressed frustration at the “extremely limited and painstakingly slow” progress.

“It was a success given the extremely difficult circumstances, but not a progress,” she said. “We evacuated 1,400 people but there (are) nearly 250,000 more to go if you look at all the besieged communities.”

Homs Governor: 3 extra days for delivering aid into Homs, 70 evacuees had their situation settled

Syria’s government is doing its best to improve humanitarian aid access, Meqdad said on Friday, a day after Amos urged the UN Security Council to act to improve access.

“While we have done our best and will continue to do our best, I think some of her statements were absolutely unacceptable,” Meqdad told a news conference in Geneva.

“Mrs Amos, in many of her statements does not recognize that there is terrorism in Syria and there are terrorist organizations which are hindering the movement of goods and humanitarian assistance to many parts of Syria in addition to ignoring very important places where the assistance should go.”

Washington and London, meanwhile, demanded Damascus honor a pledge to release hundreds of men detained after being evacuated from Homs this week.

“The regime should know that the world is watching with deep concern what is taking place in Homs and the status of these male evacuees,” said State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the detentions “outrageous”.

(AFP, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

ED COMMENT:

It is Slap on the face of  Daniel Hamayeh, posing as spokeman for the Axis of resistance, and Khalid Hamayreh, the sectarian mouthpiece of American brothers.

Daniel Hamayreh – A Political Anal-ysist

The real outcome (Of Geneva 2) is being cooked elsewhere and the choices are not many . In order to continue to rule , Assad who agreed to shift the battle – according to Russia’s instructions – would have to present concessions not only to US but to Russia as well and this has already started in approving of the Egyptian military coup in Egypt and in turning the war against NATO and Israel into a war against Terrorism.”

“the World Order is now supporting the Arab armies in their war against Terror. This is a serious shift in the struggle because this so called Terror is exclusive of Israel and NATO and targets the gangs sent by the World Order to Syria, Iraq and Lebanon and also to Sinai , financed and supplied by Gulf countries through Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan and directly from Libya to Sinai but does not target the real sponsors of world terrorism in the form of US and allies.” 

“Do the Muslim Brothers constitute the major threat? And is Erdogan a Muslim Brother before being a NATO stooge ? And are the Muslim Brothers the most prominent danger threatening the area . What about Israel ?”  He asked

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YOU DECIDE
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Khalid Hamayreh – A Sectarian Mouthpiece of American Brotherhood Hasbra

“However, the worst possible outcome of the Geneva conference would be the survival of the Assad regime.”” 

“We are not against the Nusseiri sect per se, e.g. because of its religion, however heretical it may be. No one can play God in this world and all citizens must be treated equally under a modern civil state….But we cannot escape the fact that this sect has effectively been at the forefront of Assad’s genocidal blitz against the Syrian people.  

And by readily accepting this nefarious role, the Nusseiri sect effectively put itself on a collision course with the rest of the Syrian people. We would be dishonest if we ignored or overlooked this fact…..I know it is politically incorrect to invoke sectarian issues. However, we all know that the sectarian dimension was conspicuous from the very inception in the Syrian quagmire. 

And we can’t pretend that sectarianism is not at the heart of the conflict, especially with the presence in Syria of tens of thousands of Hizbullah, Iraqi Shiite and Iranian fighters who are sent to Syria to murder Syrian children and rape Syrian women in the name of Hussein, Ali and Zaynab.

This evil is absolutely and totally unacceptable. It must be stopped.” Khalid Hamayreh

There is no doubt in my mind that these Egyptian officials represent the “Mossad lobby” within the Egyptian army. They are the Sisi men, par excellence, who are trying  to invent “red herrings” and imaginary enemies abroad to justify- and divert attention from- their tyranny and terror at home…

“In the final analysis, we are talking about the disciples of Abdul Hakim Amer, the infamous Mossad agent and Gamal Abdul Nasser’s top military general who made sure that all Egyptian warplanes remained grounded in their bases on 5 June 1967, only to become sitting ducks for the Israeli air-force….We know the rest of the story.”

“Hamas, like all Muslims should, back the choice of the people of Egypt, not the choice of Israel and the American Jewish lobby.” Khalid Hamayreh

“Flying in the face of common sense, some Egyptian officials have been claiming that the new “constitution,” written by liberals, secularists and other enemies of the Islamic faith, is one of the most democratic in the world.” 

“We, Muslims, will not allow this scandal to pass. We will sacrifice blood and soul for our liberty. The days when a bankrupt army general could impose his will on millions of people are over.”Khalid Hamayreh

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