Syria talks: little hope for political settlement
The “Geneva II” talks between warring sides in Syria aim to establish, as set out in the June 2012 Geneva Communiqué, a transitional government involving “both sides”, alongside a review of the Syria’s constitution and legal system. The official Syrian opposition, the National Coalition for Syrian and Revolutionary Forces (SNC), at first refused to take part without a guarantee that President Bashar Assad would step down. On 18 January it relented. The Syrian Government only agreed to talks, if they included ending “terrorism” and clarified terminology in the original communiqué...