Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to a peace summit in Vienna this weekend to figure out how to end the Syrian civil war, even though the U.S. and key players can’t agree on what President Bashar Assad’s fate should be.
“[W]e are still working through with Russia and Iran the question of Assad and his role,” Kerry said Thursday during a speech before the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. “It has not been settled, and we acknowledge that.”
Kerry said that despite that gaping difference, the U.S.-led, 65-member coalition against the Islamic State is essentially on the same page about what needs to happen in Syria.
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“So even while divided on this critical issue, the United States and Russia and other countries involved have decided, wisely, I think, not to let that disagreement prevent us from trying to build on the common ground that we have established, build a legitimate, organic, negotiating process,” he said, referring to the communiqué all parties signed in Vienna Oct. 30.
The parties agreed, among other things, to keep Syria unified and free within its current borders, maintain state institutions, and protect the right of all Syrians. Maintaining the integrity of government institutions is key to preventing a major mistake that is credited with helping ISIS rise in Iraq, Kerry said.
It’s necessary “so we don’t have the implosion that we saw in Iraq,” he said, referring to the massive vacuum in providing basic government services that was created when the U.S.-led coalition de-Ba’athitized Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s fall.
Looking ahead to Vienna, Kerry said: “Our goal is to develop a timetable for action based on interim steps, the participation of a broad range of Syrian parties, including both men and women, and the kind of political transition that will empower the center against the extremes.”
Kerry said he doesn’t see a way to peace and a new government if Assad is allowed to maintain power. The “responsible” Syrian opposition’s leadership would not tolerate it.
“Asking the opposition to trust Assad or to accept Assad’s leadership is simply not a reasonable request, and it is literally, therefore, a non-starter,” he said. “And even if we … made the worst deal with the devil,” the fighting would not end without a transition away from Assad at the helm. “That’s why we are pushing so hard for a real transition. Because without a real transition, no matter how much we want it, the fighting will continue and the war will never end.”
Speaking earlier Thursday, National Security Adviser Susan Rice echoed Kerry’s comments about removing Assad.
“Our strong view is that Assad has lost all legitimacy,” she said, adding that “a legitimate government coming to power in the context of the transition” is necessary. “And it’s very hard to envision how that could be accomplished with Assad still in power.”
With the Assad question very much unresolved and with the Islamic State not routed from Syria yet, Kerry was careful not to over-promise what coalition leaders will accomplish in Vienna.
“Now, I cannot say this afternoon that we are on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement, no,” he said. “There remains a lot of work to be done. The walls of mistrust within Syria, within the region, within the international community are thick and they are high. But those walls will never be breached unless we make a concerted effort and a creative effort to surmount them. Our meeting at the end of October showed that the agreed basis for action is much wider than many had supposed.”
