"Syria opposition rules out talks before end to Russian air raids" Reuters

 

"In a barely veiled swipe at one of the Middle East’s leading powers, the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria accused Saudi Arabia of undermining his efforts to bring a broad slate of Syrian opposition groups to upcoming peace talks designed to end Syria’s brutal civil war.

In his confidential Jan. 18 briefing to the U.N. Security Council, which was obtained exclusively by Foreign Policy, Staffan de Mistura said Riyadh is complicating his efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict by trying to tightly control which opposition groups will be allowed to participate in the negotiations.

His comments came shortly after a slate of Saudi-backed Syrian opposition groups, organized under the banner of the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC), rebuffed his personal appeals to allow other groups to take part in the talks. De Mistura complained to the council that the Saudi-backed opposition coalition and its “sponsors insist on the primacy and exclusivity of their role as ‘THE’ opposition delegation.” While de Mistura did not name Saudi Arabia, Riyadh is the main international sponsor of the HNC. The group, however, is backed by France, Turkey, and Qatar."  Foreign Policy 

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/20/u-n-envoy-signals-that-riyadh-is-obstructing-syria-peace-talks/

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"The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition ruled out even indirect negotiations with Damascus before steps including a halt to Russian air strikes, contradicting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's insistence that talks will begin next week.

With the five-year-old Syrian war showing no signs of ending, it looks increasingly uncertain that peace talks will begin as planned on Jan. 25 in Geneva, partly because of a dispute over the composition of the opposition delegation.

Peace efforts face huge underlying challenges, among them disagreements over President Bashar al-Assad's future and tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Russia on Friday denied a report that President Vladimir Putin had asked Assad to step down last year.

The Syrian government has said it is ready to take part in the Geneva talks on time. The office of U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was still aiming "at rolling out the talks" on Jan. 25, and would be "assessing progress over the weekend".

Russia said the talks could be delayed until Jan. 27 or 28 because of the disagreement over who would represent the opposition."  Reuters 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0V01S6

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"Clinton has been drawing attention to a comment Sanders made in Sunday's NBC News Democratic debate when he said, "I think what we've got to do is move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran."

That shows a level of naiveté, Clinton insists. In an interview with NPR Wednesday, Clinton drew attention to his position, calling it a "fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to do the patient diplomacy that I have experience in."

After noting that Iran "seeks the destruction of Israel" and is "flouting international law with its ballistic missile threats," Sullivan said in the video, "it's not at all clear why it is Sen. Sanders is suggesting it."

In a conference call held for reporters Thursday, Sullivan reiterated his concern, saying normalizing relations with Iran is "a bridge too far" even for supporters of diplomatic relations with Iran."  nbcnews.com 

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/clinton-campaign-attacks-sanders-over-normalizing-relations-iran-n501271

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Well, pilgrims,  Clinton once sounded as though she actually understood international relations, but, no more.   The Clintonian drive to power before all else is evident now.  Triangulation is everything both in foreign policy and in her shameless pandering to Blacks in South Carolina.  It is known now that she is one the main instigators and supporters of the R2P/neocon driven Syria policy/lunacy.  She continues to say nonsensical things about; regime change, the need to install a replacement government that would include salafi jihadi elements, "no fly zones," unending and absolute hostility to Iran, and support for Erdogan's post-secular turkey.   All of these things are on the Likudnik agenda.  To top off the list of her "problems," her presentations are so over-rehearsed that they look wooden and phony. 

Saudi Arabia is trying hard to win in the negotiations what its Wahhabi friends have not been able to win on the battlefield.  That will not happen.  Basic Tip:  First you win on the battlefield, then at the peace talks.

IMO Syria and Russia are "playing along" with the peace talks meme for the purpose of demonstrating the futility of such an approach.  That will work.  pl 

Comments

[MRW]

✔✔✔

[MRW]

The 30-year-old prince running Saudi Arabia for his father is making some incredibly poor judgment calls.

[Walrus]

A bigger narcissist than her husband! Yes! "Calibration" is exactly what they do to match their audience. I even had a narcissist in a weak moment complain to me how hard it was for her because " everybody wants a different me" - the workload of being a chameleon had gotten to her.

[Valissa]

Hey man... it is what is... illegitamati non carburundum [Don’t let the bastards wear you down.]

Chillin' with Heraclitus...

"Nothing endures but change" Heraclitus

"Everything flows and nothing abides; everything gives way and nothing stays fixed." -- Heraclitus

[Heraclitus - variations on a theme]
You cannot step twice into the same river.
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.
You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you.

[Fred]

kooshy,

I think you and charly don't understand the irony of the Warsaw pact members getting back together. Of course the policies (which are growing more popular every day) of the German Chancellor, who learned everything she knows about Democracy from growing up in the GDR, seems to indicate the Europeans are just fine with a million new residents (per year) from lands that have never had democracy. I'm sure it will all work out in the long run.

[Chris Chuba]

Personally, this is why I think Iran openly tested their ballistic missiles and flashed their underground tunnels. It was a message to Israel and their other neighbors that a preemptive attack on their country would be met with a retaliatory attack of conventionally armed ballistic missiles. I saw so many people on cable TV proclaim that ballistic missiles are never used with conventional weapons but his is not true. The Saudis bought ballistic missiles with even better capability from China. Some talking points just sound too good to give up like 'nuclear capable ballistic missiles'. I suppose anything that can carry 2,000 lb is 'nuclear capable' by that definition, including ships and trucks.

[alba etie]

The Beaver
Yes and I think recently the Israeli Navy acquired yet another submarine from the Germans that can launch ballistic missiles ..

[alba etie]

fjdixon
Watched the same hearings - it was very disquieting . Keane totally discounting the Russians S-400's in Syria makes me wonder if some one is not getting paid off to spout this dangerous nonsense .

[fasteddiez]

Bibi's wish to bomb bomb bomb Iran was, is, and possibly will be easier said then done.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/barak-netanyahu-wanted-to-strike-iran-in-2010-and-2011-but-colleagues-blocked-him/

....

[alba etie]

DC
I have said on another SST thread I have sent money to Sen Sanders , three times for a total of $ 150 . I am also getting commitments from at least five friends to come with me and vote for Senator Sanders in our Texas Primary ( Lord willing more then five - I have a fourteen passenger E 350 ) - Should HRC win the primary this self identified FDR Democrat will vote for Donald S Trump should he win the GOP nomination . That is how strongly I believe we cannot afford another NeoCon as POTUS. All the rest of the candidates on both sides have drank the Neo Con Kool Aid . God speed Bernie Sanders indeed..

[alba etie]

Matthew
I for one would wish to hope that the Realist both at the USG and the UN who actually hold authority in their positions are slow walking the peace talks starting to allow for the retaking of Aleppo et al . Hope Springs Eternal , yes?
Please President Putin exterminate the Liver Eaters - Amen ..

[Brunswick]

No matter what Assad and Putin do, they will be scapegoated in the MSM.

Thus the "probably" being touted as an evidentiary standard in the Litvenenko Inquiry.

[kao_hsien_chih]

I realize that, but Peoria, historically, has been used to refer to Middle America. HRC does not care about Middle America--a point that needed to be emphasized.

[alba etie]

Anne Lawrence
Welcome to SST .
Ms Clinton's continual morphings is exactly why many of us centrist Democrats simply cannot vote for her , not in 2008 and certainly not now .
Feel the Bern ! :) indeed..

[alba etie]

Chris Chuba,
And I still believe that the Benghazi outpost was there as a way station to get Qadafi's 'liberated " armaments to the Liver Eaters in Syria. My take on the post Syrian reconstruction is there will be plenty of Iranian & Chinese reconstruction funds available - so if the NeoCons slap on sanctions against Assad it will not matter.

[Valissa]

Really? Certainly an over-generalization. There are still quite a lot wealthy and important people in Middle America, and I'm pretty sure Hillary would like their support ;)

[Babak Makkinejad]

Yup, acting like peasants....

EU leaders, it is clear to me, have no vision - they have to bring that from US too, it seems to me, like so much else.

[charly]

A million per year is akin to what the US gets in "Mexicans". IMHO in the last 30 years i heard a lot of screaming about Mexicans but i can't really say that i noticed any real change. I expect the same with the Syrians

[Babak Makkinejad]

I do not think so because I think EU is structurally too rigid and ideologically too far-gone into Borgen Landen to be able to turn itself quickly around.

They were living in glass houses and when US told them to throw stones, they replied: "Yes Sir, Sir! How many? How fast? and How far, Sir?"

They will endure this too, in my opinion, until US instructs them otherwise.

They have lost the game of being independent international actors, in my opinion.

[Bandolero]

turcopolier

"Saudi Arabia is trying hard to win in the negotiations what its Wahhabi friends have not been able to win on the battlefield."

My imagination of the Saudi-Turkish calculus behind their stalling tactics is a bit different. I think they stall peace talks at every corner because they hope or gamble on that the Borg will win the US POTUS election later this year and then things will be reversed and they get what they want.

[Thirdeye]

If "peace" talks convene, the best strategy for R+6 would be to show up with some big bags of popcorn and some tablets. They would say nothing other than to inform others of what's showing up on certain twitter feeds.

[Valissa]

Instead of the EU Nations looking out for their own self interest... they seem to have gotten lost in their new self image as the "do gooders" and "the helpers" and as "collectivists". This is "nice", but it's not a position of strength. The EU gets weaker by the day. Grand dreams are all well and good, but when the associated ideologies/dreams become disconnected from the reality of human nature and a sense of self interest, it'll come back to bite ya in the butt.

Given that unemployment was already high in many EU countries, this flood of new immigrants from the ME has the potential to shake up EU countries and their cultures in many unexpected ways. Not all of them bad, of course, but it seems that as the EU experiences more and more Chaos it will naturally attempt to counteract that and try to find ways to restore order. Attempts to restore order naturally involve some sort of suppression and/or control elements, as the articles I linked above all show.

Will be interesting to see what types of "solutions" their political leaders try to sell their citizens. I expect things will get sorted out in the long run... but for the interim, however...

To paraphrase Bette Davis “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

[different clue]

alba etie,

All of them. Not just the ISIS ones. All of them.

[Ulenspiegel]

"Yes and I think recently the Israeli Navy acquired yet another submarine from the Germans that can launch ballistic missiles .."

Not ballistic missiles, but cruise missiles.

[Trey N]

Good Lord have mercy, Matthew - I have never, ever before read an entire article from a "major" magazine that did not contain one single word of truth. Not even a syllable. I did not believe that such a thing was possible in this universe.

After reading your link, I stand corrected. Absolutely incredible....