Syrian Peace Talks to Begin Amid Escalating Violence

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Washington — In the wake of  escalating violence against civilians in Syria, a heightened sense of urgency surrounds the United Nations–led peace talks set to begin January 22 in Montreal, Switzerland.

The conference, known as Geneva II, represents the concerted bilateral efforts of the United States and Russia to bring together delegations from the Syrian regime of President Bashar AL-Assad and Syrian opposition groups to begin negotiations on a transitional government with full executive powers.

The conference was said to begin on January 22, it will focus on implementing a six-point plan, known as the Geneva I communique, that emerged from a U.N.-led “action group” meeting of Western and Arab nations in Geneva in June 2012. The plan calls for a Syrian-led transition toward a democratic, pluralistic nation guided by the rule of law and respecting rights of all its people and all communities, regardless of ethnicity, sect or gender.
Members of an alliance of opposition groups known as the Syrian Opposition Coalition General Assembly met January 17 in Istanbul to decide whether to attend the conference, but they adjourned for the night without reaching a decision. The assembly is attempting to represent the various concerns of numerous factions within the opposition.
Another major objective of the conference is to gain the regime’s complete commitment to allow U.N. humanitarian agencies full access to the country to supply food and medical supplies. The United States recently committed $380 million for humanitarian assistance, bringing the total U.S. contribution to $1.7 billion.
More than 130,000 lives have been lost since the war began in March 2011, and millions have lost their homes and security. It is estimated that 8 million people are displaced and well more than 2 million are refugees in neighboring countries.
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“The conflict in Syria has raged for too long,” a U.N. spokesman said in a statement. “It would be unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction it has caused.”

The talks were originally scheduled for last May, but deep differences among Syria’s fractious opposition forces have proved a barrier to getting both sides to the negotiating table. The U.N. announcement on Monday appears to be an effort to force the issue and set a firm date for what could be a forum laying the groundwork for a new political order in Syria.

The aim of the Syria talks is to set up a transitional government in Damascus based on the “mutual consent” of the opposing parties. The transitional administration would have full executive powers, including control of military and security units, according to a blueprint hammered out last year by world powers.

The major, U.S.-backed political opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, has limited presence on the ground in Syria and has been rejected as illegitimate by some rebel groups fighting inside the country. The coalition has put down various conditions for its presence at peace talks, including seeking a guarantee that the process will lead to Assad’s departure from power -- a demand rejected by the Syrian government.

Various Islamic rebel alliances have also sprung up inside Syria recent months, along with Kurdish militants fighting for a degree of autonomy in northern Syria. Also, several factions affiliated with Al Qaeda and seeking establishment of an Islamic state in Syria have become powerful blocs in the rebel ranks.