Syrian Parties Respond to US-Russia Conference Proposal

Haytham Mouzahem (Syria Pulse)

May 14, 2013

Moaz Alkhatib, head of the Syrian National Coalition, attends the Arab League summit in Doha in this March 26, 2013 handout. A summit of Arab heads of state opened in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday expected to focus on the war in Syria as well as on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. REUTERS/Handout (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED — Moaz al-Khatib, head of the Syrian National Coalition, attends the Arab League summit in Doha in this March 26, 2013 handout. — REUTERS

The US State Department announced on Monday, May 13 that the international conference in Geneva of representatives from the Syrian government and the opposition may be delayed from the end of May to early June.

The delay is expected for both political and technical reasons. Russian news agencies quoted a Russian official as saying on Saturday, May 11 that it will be impossible to hold the conference by the end of May. He added that “there are very many differences: who can take part in this format, who is legitimate and who is not legitimate," indicating this could impede efforts to organize the conference announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov May 7 in Moscow.