US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that peace talks on Syria under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva were “the only basis” for a political solution without any role for Assad’s regime.
In a speech in Washington, the US secretary of state said that while the Islamic state was being defeated by its “last pockets in Syria … the international community is looking towards a solution to the civil war in Syria.”
Tillerson defended the Geneva process, which was launched on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, while Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime, launched diplomatic initiatives to reach a political solution.
“This is the only possible base for the reconstruction of the country and the implementation of a political solution that leaves no role for Assad’s regime or his family in the Syrian government,” Tillerson said, referring to the Geneva talks.
He expressed his conviction that the peace process “is about to enter the right path.”
A new round of Syrian peace talks was launched Tuesday in the presence of the Syrian opposition delegation, while the delegation of the regime will arrive only on Wednesday.
The regime protested against statements by the opposition confirming its emphasis on the departure of the Syrian president with the start of the transitional period.
Washington has consistently stressed that the Syrian president can not be part of the long-term solution. But according to a senior State Department official, free elections under UN auspices with “four or five million Syrians outside Syria” could contribute to change.
“If the Security Council resolution is implemented correctly, the Syrians will, in my opinion, confirm their desire for other leaders,” he said.
Tillerson said US and Russian presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had recently been able to bring their views closer to the Syrian peace process during a brief meeting in Asia.
“Russia has confirmed that it sees things like us” on the importance of the Geneva process, he said. “We will base this on moving forward.”
