The_Guardian_-_2016-12-29

to.
“There are two texts ready on a solution in Syria. One is about a political resolution and the other is
about a ceasefire. They can be implemented any time,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters on the sidelines of an
awards ceremony at the presidential palace in Ankara.
He said Syria’s opposition would never back Assad.
“The whole world knows it is not possible for there to be a political transition with Assad, and we
also all know that it is impossible for these people to unite around Assad.”
Last week, Russia’s foreign minister said Russia, Iran and Turkey had agreed that the priority in Syria
was to fight terrorism and not to remove Assad’s government.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said earlier on Wednesday that Moscow and Ankara had
agreed on a proposal towards a general ceasefire. The Kremlin said it could not comment on the
report, and it may be the Turks have announced something prematurely.
Common ground on Syria unites Russia and
Turkey against the west
Read more
Any ceasefire would exclude groups labelled as terrorists by the two countries, allowing attacks to
continue against Islamic State and others. Turkey has said the talks must not include the Syrian
Kurdish Democratic party (PYD) or its military arm (YPG).
Arrangements for the Russian-led talks are vague, but Moscow has said they will take place in
Kazakhstan. Astana, the Kazakh capital, staged Syrian peace talks in 2015, but critics said they
excluded most of the mainstream opposition and so were largely pointless.
Russia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday the Syrian government was consulting with the opposition
before possible peace talks, while a Saudi-backed opposition group said it knew nothing of the
negotiations but supported a ceasefire.
The talks would exclude groups labelled as terrorists by Moscow, a group that would exclude al-
Nusra, the al-Qaida franchise in Syria, and Isis, the Sunni group based in Raqqa in north-east Syria.