Regime negotiator: Assad’s fate still ‘excluded’ from Syria peace talks

Syria’s regime reiterates its stance that peace talks in Geneva will not address President Bashar al-Assad’s future, after the UN urged Damascus to submit plans for political transition.

“President Assad has nothing to do with the… talks,” lead government negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari tells journalists.

Jaafari insists that political transition in the war-ravaged country and Assad’s fate are “two separate issues. The references of our talks do not give any indication whatsoever with regard to the president of the Syrian Arab Republic,” he says.

Assad’s future “is something that is already excluded from the scene,” Jaafari adds, following his meeting with United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura.

The main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has made Assad’s departure a non-negotiable demand before any peace deal can be made.

De Mistura has described political transition as “the mother of all issues” standing in the way of a breakthrough, but has not directly addressed the Assad question.

De Mistura on Friday said he has been urging the regime to submit concrete proposals for its vision of a transition government that could lead Syria out of five years of brutal conflict.

Jaafari counters that his side has given the UN a document addressing principles for a political solution to the conflict.