Any peace plan for Syria allowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stand in early elections after a transition period would be “mad” because he is the root of the problem and holding a nationwide poll is impossible, a Syrian opposition figure said.
The commander of a rebel group fighting on the ground echoed the comment.
It was reported on Thursday that Damascus ally Iran would accept a six-month transition period at the end of which al-Assad’s fate would be decided in elections, according to a Middle East source familiar with Iran’s position.
Photo: AFP
About a dozen countries, including Iran, the US and Russia, were meeting in Vienna yesterday for talks aimed at finding a solution to more than four years of war. Syrian parties on both sides of the conflict are not attending.
“Who is mad enough to believe that under these circumstances in Syria, anybody can hold elections?” said George Sabra, a member of the main Western-backed Syrian National Coalition.
“Several millions of Syrians are outside Syria, some of them in refugee camps in some countries. Inside Syria, there are millions who have left their houses, their lives, seeking safety,” he said.
“In the shadow of this anarchy there will not be real elections, therefore we reject them absolutely,” rebel commander Ahmed al-Seoud of the 13th Division said.
Sabra rejected the idea that al-Assad could stand in any early vote, saying he and his Iranian, Russian and Hezbollah allies had attacked the Syrian population and given rise to hardline insurgents.
“Bashar al-Assad and his regime is the root of the terrorism in Syria,” he said. “I think what is happening in Vienna these days is a carnival of Middle Eastern states, making statements to meet their interests, not to meet the real problem in Syria.”
Tehran and Moscow have provided crucial support to al-Assad’s government, while his regional opponents, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, demand his departure.
The US has said it could tolerate al-Assad during a short transition period, but that he would then have to exit the political stage.
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