Syria's information minister gives govt position on upcoming talks in Geneva
(7 Jan 2014) Syria's Information Minister asserted that the main focus of the mooted Geneva peace talks would be "fighting terrorism." At a news conference on Tuesday, Omran al-Zoubi said his government would be sending a political delegation and expected to talk with the same from the opposition. But if militant factions were involved then there would be no talking. "There will be no need to go to Geneva if we are to proceed in a dialogue with those," he asserted. Al-Zoubi affirmed that any agreement reached at Geneva will be put to referendum by the Syrian people and if not approved, it will not be implemented. The minister also insisted that the dialogue should be only between Syrians and pushed for talks to take place in Syria itself should the Geneva gambit flop. "If the dialogue among Syrians is not going to succeed in Geneva, which we do not hope to happen, it will succeed in Damascus," al-Zoubi remarked. The comments came hard on the heels of yet more reported infighting between opposition fighters, some of whom are part of what is known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) but some of whom are militant groups from outside Syria. The clashes against radical extremists add another layer of complexity to the Syrian conflict, less than three weeks ahead of a planned international peace conference to try to resolve the civil war. The Nusra Front and its rival al-Qaida-linked group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are ideologically similar: both are extreme Islamic groups, loyal to al-Qaida. But the Nusra Front is dominated by Syrian fighters, and sees its first priority as overthrowing President Bashar Assad. ISIL sees itself as trying to build Islamic rule and their leadership is mostly foreign, stirring more resentment. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
