Arab League: No solid grounds for Syria talks

Arab League: No solid grounds for Syria talks
Fri Jun 28, 2013 23:05:08

Arab League says there is absolutely nothing to indicate that long awaited Geneva II talks on Syria crisis might go underway, following US's controversial support for continuation of the conflict.

“Arab League has no concrete evidence to indicate that the international Geneva II meeting on Syria will be held in the near future due to the complex stances adopted at regional and international levels,” Egyptian daily al-Youm al-Sabe'a quoted Arab League spokesman Nassif Hitti as saying.

Hopes for bringing the conflict to a closer end were dimmed following a conference of the so-called Friends of Syria in Qatari capital in which Washington and its allies called for sending urgent military aids to the insurgents.

The move was seen as a blow to efforts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

The United States has begun shipping weapons to Jordan to arm the militants in neighboring Syria.

“Arab League reaffirms its previous stance that political solutions are the only way to end the crisis in Syria; a political solution which would be resulted only through bringing all sides at negotiating table in Geneva II conference based on the Geneva I accords,” Hitti said.

Referring to the obstacles on the way for holding the Geneva II conference, Hitti said, the Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi is in contact with all sides involved to lay the grounds for the conference to be held.

US calls for continuing the conflict until a “balance in the battleground” is achieved, comes as the Syrian government has repeatedly said they are ready to take part in peace negotiations without any pre-conditions.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Monday that the government is even ready to help organize a ceasefire, should talks are set to start.

Syria crisis started as pro-reform protests but with interventions by the United States, UK and their regional and Western allies it soon turned to a massive insurgency which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and the Middle East to wage one of the bloodiest wars the region has ever experienced.

The war, which many fear is turning to a “war of hatred”, has already taken more than 90,000 lives.

string(684) "[{"id":"1486945","sort":"3043027","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/22/alalam_635075212583392512_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Kerry calls for continuing war in Syria"} ,{"id":"1487863","sort":"3043028","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/25/alalam_635077768629349492_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Syria talks may not happen in July: UN envoy"} ,{"id":"1488556","sort":"3043029","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/27/alalam_635079586790927168_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"All parties should attend Syria talks: Lebanon FM"} ,{"id":"1488864","sort":"3043030","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/06/28/alalam_635080377970923401_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Russia: arming Syria rebels contradicts peace talks"} ]"