Assad Has No Role in Syria's Future, Say Britain, France
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syrian leader Bashar Assad cannot "credibly" be part of any future government combating the threat from the Islamic State (IS) group in the country, Britain and France said Friday.
Assad is "stoking injustice, disorder and extremism" in Syria, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius wrote in a joint editorial published by newspapers Le Monde and Al-Hayat.
They claimed that Assad is seeking to rehabilitate his public image despite a conflict in Syria which has lasted nearly four years, killed at least 210,000 people and displaced nearly 12 million others.
"For our own national security, we have to defeat ISIL (IS) in Syria. We need a partner in Syria to work with against the extremists and this means a political settlement agreed between the Syrian parties leading to a unity government in Syria," the editorial said.
"It is clear to us that Assad could not credibly be part of any such administration."
One of a group of French lawmakers who met Assad in Damascus on a much-criticized private trip said Friday that the Syrian leader "expected to no longer remain isolated in the face of the terrorist threat".
That visit has been strongly condemned by French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
The editorial added that most Syrians would not accept Assad as part of the solution to the conflict.
"Proposing Assad as a solution to the extremists is to misunderstand the causes of the extremism," it said.
IS jihadists have taken swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, prompting an international coalition led by the U.S. to launch air strikes on selected targets from last year onwards.
U.N. peace envoy Staffan de Mistura is traveling to Syria on Saturday to hold talks on a plan to halt fighting in the key northern city of Aleppo.
He told the U.N. Security Council last week that the Syrian regime was willing to suspend air raids for six weeks in Aleppo, which is divided into regime and rebel-held areas.
27 February 2015, 17:28
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Assad is "stoking injustice, disorder and extremism" in Syria, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius wrote in a joint editorial published by newspapers Le Monde and Al-Hayat.
Stop saying Assad has no role in Syria's future. Do something about it instead of watching Syria and its people burn. You got rid of Gaddafi in 3 weeks, seriously!
27 February 2015, 18:14
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sure southern.. that is why the syrian people demonstrated peacefully to voice their will to change their president... and how were they welcomed? shot down by their president forces like rabbits, then bombed...
you are so funny southern in your hypocrisy.....
27 February 2015, 18:16
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The ideology Baathism in the case of ASSad, versus a weird so-called religion partly based on a totally messed-up misunderstanding of medieval Islam in the case of ISIS) is different, of course but the goals and methods applied are identical.
27 February 2015, 22:40
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Once Baathism starts murdering my country's politicians and then goes on to murder hundreds of thousands of the people they're supposed to be protecting, la2 mbala it starts becoming my business.
And do please show me one actual democracy that has failed. Iraq post-US invasion has never been a democracy, if that was what you were about to say. Yalla, show me a failed democracy ta shoof. L3ama dude, are you actually that blind or are you just trolling?
27 February 2015, 22:53
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Maxx, go have a look in your newly "freed" Libya. How well are they doing now?
28 February 2015, 00:50
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Quite the opposite farris. The Ansarallah fighters, got rid of the Western backed false democracy.
27 February 2015, 18:16
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Britain and France, you won't burn if Assad falls, but entire Syria will burn and Lebanon with it. If he stays it's because many people do want him to so go bark somewhere else.
27 February 2015, 18:17
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Assad have way, ya Naharnet? It's either him, or the takfiris you are trying to cover every gods single day!
27 February 2015, 18:18
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Assad should not be allowed a quick demise. He needs to be eliminated in a manner that is befitting of the way that he butchered and decimated his own people. I am sure this comment will be deleted by the time the censors get to it.
27 February 2015, 18:19
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Maybe Syria should become the same as post Gaddafi Libya or post Saddam Hussain Iraq ! Peaceful democratic society that is pro american and western.... LOL. Arabs do not deserve or understand what democracy means! Arabs are bedouins that respond only to religious extremism or secular dictatorship ! Lebanese are not arabs so thinking that the middle east will have a democratic spring is a dangerous joke!
27 February 2015, 18:32
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the same applies to you M8ers... always saying that M14ers praise isis and israel when the facts deny your hateful wishes...
and you label M14ers as zionists, israel lovers, saudi or takfiris... so before lecturing others, idiot M8er apply your rants to yourself, then come and talk, till then you are just as despicable as isis are....
27 February 2015, 19:19
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tony.farris maybe you didn't know, but Kataeb and LF families are Mafiaso. How do you think childkillers, manages to can carry on?
27 February 2015, 21:17
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Go right ahead, what's stopping you?
LF hits the world record, in their previous massacres of Women & children.
You allied with the Syrians, you allied with Israel. Always behind the strongest = Weak no honor.
27 February 2015, 19:35
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you d better check and review how isis started in syria and how assad encouraged its spreading so that the only choice would be between him and isis... and you fell for it like the whole M8 camp...
27 February 2015, 19:57
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ISIS militants came to Syria much later, Syria plight is the creation of ASSad.
27 February 2015, 19:36
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Long after Hollande and Cameron are gone and disgraced, Assad will be there.
27 February 2015, 20:17
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Declare ASSad and his closest associates as international war criminals and initiate indictment proceedings at The Hague. ASSad’s foreign minister Walid al-Muallem "fat albert" should be told privately that he too could be indicted as a war criminal if he does not defect from the regime. The message should be equally conveyed to other senior members of the regime, both civilian leaders and military.
27 February 2015, 20:39
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The Butcher. The greatest criminal and assassin of all times. Full stop.
27 February 2015, 20:40
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really? greater than WWII leaders?? 55M dead? lol... stick to your hasbara offices, cuz you cant get any other jobs.
27 February 2015, 23:28
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so what? does it makes bashar any less a butcher if he killed less? what an idiot answer you have....
27 February 2015, 20:40
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The Butcher. The greatest criminal and assassin of all times. Full stop.
27 February 2015, 21:23
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Time to say, Britain and France will have no roll in Syria's future.
27 February 2015, 22:31
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Maybe clever of him, but shameful of you that you still support that butcher and use ISIS as your excuse. Just because one doesn't support the more horrific killers doesn't mean that one should be supporting the more prolific killers ya Flame.
27 February 2015, 22:34
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Ya Flame, who started butchering peaceful Syrian protesters en masse in March 2011? France, Britain and the US? Sti7i 3a dammak ya zalameh, iza ma btisti7i 3a damm yalli saffa7o feehon s7abak bil Hizb w Baschar.
27 February 2015, 23:57
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Syrians should be the ones who make the decision as to who their leaders are not other governments of other countries. Imagine if someone voted for Obama and another country intervened and said sorry you have to select a White president instead, I don't think any American would tolerate that interference.
28 February 2015, 00:59
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Another wishful thought humble, Syria has actually been strengthened, their military lacked of real experience, they sure have that now. Combat ready soldiers, just like the Resistance upgraded themselves despite their losses.
Experienced fighters, are the best on the battlefield.
