Washington Tells Syrian opposition going to Geneva II is major US interest

Paris - Nidal Hamade

The US administration told those to whom it may concern among the Syrian opposition, especially the National Opposition Coalition and the Muslim Brotherhood, that negotiating with the Syrian regime and going to Geneva are in the interest of the US.

Amid the primary frail agreement between Russia and the US on holding an international meeting in Geneva next June to solve the Syrian crisis, disputes among the Syrian opposition surfaced again, with the US pressuring the opposition factions to facilitate its mission in forming an affiliated Syrian delegation to attend Geneva II.

The Coalition is now hardly ever managing to agree on representatives, as everyone wishes to be in Geneva as part of the Syrian opposition delegation that shall not be exclusive to the Coalition or to the factions backed by the US and the West and funded by Qatar and KSA. As a matter of fact, the Opposition Coordination Committee, enjoying good ties with Russia and Iran, has elected its representatives who shall include Kurds.

Since last week, Saudi Arabia's Intelligence Chief, Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, has been inviting opposition personalities close to the Coalition to come to Riyadh to put them in the picture of the US decision to hand KSA the Syrian dossier and to put Qatar aside for the moment. Bandar has even asked everyone to keep off Qatar, "al-Nusra Front" and the Muslim Brotherhood so that the Saudi support for the opposition continues. Bandar defined to his itinerants that KSA currently aims to urge the opposition to agree on one unified delegation as soon as possible, so that they would not be obliged to do so like they were in past November in Doha, when they forcedly formed the coalition, or when they had to appoint Ghassan Hitto in Istanbul last March. The US, for its part, seems to be tentative on how to manage the disputes and rift of the Syrian oppositions. It has even expressed its dismay at the Coordination Committee, which will be attending Geneva talks as part of the opposition.

A configuration of 15 opposition figures is now being mulled. The US is trying to impose the presence of military figures from the armed groups' command, on top of whom Salim Idriss, the Joint Staff Chief. Meanwhile, some armed groups refuse to go to Geneva, and "al-Nusra" does not even recognize Idriss. The Front escalated its rejection of Geneva talks when the Syrian dossier was moved from the Qatari to the Saudi hands, and when KSA tried to undermine the Muslim Brotherhood's grip of the opposition. It is amid this spat that the organizational relation between the Muslim Brotherhood and "al-Nusra" shows.

For their part, Qatar and Turkey are seeking to maintain an influence on the Syrian dossier after they have led the futile war to topple the regime in Damascus for two years. Syria's opposition agrees that it was Turkey that contributed to igniting the Syrian conflagration and promised the opposition, time after time, to interfere for help. Today, Turkey is incapable of countering Damascus which Ankara has accused of al-Rayhania blasts. This dents Turkey's clout and reduces its impact on many opposition groups. It also gives the Coordination Committee credibility in terms of its rejection of the Turkish interventions and of visiting Istanbul since the beginning of the crisis.

Source: al-Ahed news, translated and edited by moqawama.org