British based publication al-Hayat cites unnamed diplomatic source as saying “the timing of the move and its political context is still not clear.”
The US and Russia have agreed to let Syrian President Bashar Assad seek refuge in another country as part of a future political solution regarding the prolonged civil war engulfing his country, British based publication al-Hayat reported Thursday.
An unnamed senior diplomatic source with knowledge of the agreement told al-Hayat that US Secretary of State John Kerry has already informed a number of his Arab counterparts on the understanding, but stressed that “the timing of the move and its political context is still not clear.”
The source added that the understanding was welcomed by members of the UN Security Council.
The embattled Syrian autocrat has been involved in a bloody civil war that has seen over 200,000 killed as numerous rebel and terrorist organizations, including Islamic State, have fought the Assad regime for over the last four years.
The report emerged the day after Assad was quoted by Russian media as expressing his view of the future of Syria.
Assad said it would not be difficult to agree on a new Syrian government including opposition figures, but his opponents responded on Wednesday that no administration would be legitimate while he remained in office.
Assad, bolstered by military victory in the desert city of Palmyra, was quoted by Russia’s RIA news agency as saying a new draft constitution could be ready in weeks and a government that included opposition, independents and loyalists could be agreed.
While the distribution of portfolios and other technical issues would need to be discussed at Geneva peace talks, which resume next month, “these are not difficult questions”, Assad said.
Opposition negotiators immediately dismissed Assad’s remarks, saying that a political settlement could be reached only by establishing a transitional body with full powers, not another government under Assad.
The United States also rejected Assad’s comments. “I don’t know whether he envisioned himself being a part of that national unity government. Obviously that would be a nonstarter for us,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Despite Assad’s upbeat assessment of the chances for a political solution, his comments reflected deep differences with the opposition. It says that for the last four years international agreements on Syria’s future have centered on the principle of setting up a transitional governing body.
Assad’s opponents have understood that such a body would have full powers, and that he would not play a further role.
But the president said the very idea of a transitional body was “illogical and unconstitutional”.
“That’s why the solution is forming a national unity government which prepares for a new constitution,” he said, adding that its formation would be agreed in Geneva.
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