Washington, other world capitals exploring options. PHOTO: REUTERS
The United States will have to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al Assad for a political transition in Syria and is exploring ways to pressure him into agreeing to talks, US Secretary of State John Kerry told CBS News in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
“We have to negotiate in the end,” Kerry said. “We’ve always been willing to negotiate in the context of the Geneva I process,” he added, referring to a 2012 conference which called for a negotiated transition to end the conflict.
Kerry said the US and other countries, which he did not name, were exploring ways to reignite the diplomatic process to end the conflict in Syria.“What we’re pushing for is to get him (Assad) to come and do that, and it may require that there be increased pressure on him of various kinds in order to do that,” the secretary of state said.
“We’ve made it very clear to people that we are looking at increased steps that can help bring about that pressure,” he added.
“To get the Assad regime to negotiate, we’re going to have to make it clear to him that there is a determination by everybody to seek that political outcome and change his calculation about negotiating,” Kerry said. “That’s under way right now. I am convinced that, with the efforts of our allies and others, there will be increased pressure on Assad.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2015.
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