Riyadh Conference on Syria Doomed to Failure: Analyst
DAMASCUS (Tasnim) – A Syrian political analyst deplored a three-day meeting that Saudi Arabia has been hosting to unite the groups opposing the Syrian government, stressing that the conference will get nowhere.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency in Damascus, Wael Al-Imam said the ongoing conference in Riyadh will achieve nothing, because neither Saudi Arabia nor any other country has the ability to bring all Syrian opposition groups together.
Saudis are trying to unite the dispersed groups that the big powers, like the US, have already failed to bring together, he explained.
The Saudi meeting, which began on Tuesday, comes amid international efforts to restart peace negotiations with the Syrian government.
Global and regional powers recently met in Vienna and agreed on launching peace talks and a political process to end a prolonged crisis in Syria.
Last week, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian cautioned against uncoordinated measures that could torpedo the Vienna political talks on Syria.
The attempts to launch “sideline meetings” about Syria in Saudi Arabia and Jordan run counter to the communiqué issued after the Vienna talks for settling the crisis in Syria, he said.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists from various groups, including Daesh (ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to the United Nations, more than 250,000 people have been killed and one million wounded during the conflict.