Moallem’s Imprudent Remarks at Geneva II Seek to Subvert the Goal of the Conference

Fayez Sara, a member of the Syrian Coalition, said that the speeches delivered by the regime’s delegation and his allies in Geneva II are “a desperate attempt to subvert the main goal of the conference, which is to find a political solution and the formation of a transitional governing body without any role for Assad to play.” Sarah added that Moallem’s speech did not carry anything new, and is an attempt to escape the reality of Geneva II. Despite all the devastation caused by the Assad regime, in addition to hundreds of thousands of martyrs and detainees, and millions of displaced people, the Assad regime is still trying to hide behind the blatant lie of fighting terrorism.” Sarah slammed Moallem’s invective remarks and his exceeding the time allotted for his speech, describing it as kind of “impudence, and an expression disrespect for the international community, which forced the Assad regime to attend the conference.” Moreover, Sarah noted that this reflects a state of tension for the part of Moallem, who was known for being calm and cold-tempered.” It is strange for Moallem to draw criticism of the participant countries as if they were his opponents,” Sarah said. Ahmad Jarba, the Syrian Coalition’s head, said during the opening of the conference that “funeral-goers are themselves usually killed, and we have been the victims of systematic media fabrication, and a campaign of deceit and lies that have been seeking to tarnish our image. Do you remember when the regime’s Foreign Minister showed in a press conference on November 29, 2011 videos of terrorists who he said they committed crimes in Syria and killed thousands? On the same day it turned out that the videos were filmed in Tripoli, Lebanon.” Jarba stresses that “we came here to reach a political solution. There is no time to waste; we are determined to make full efforts to ensure the success of this conference that will determine the future of Syria and the Syrian revolution.” Jarba went on: “We consider the UN resolution No. 2118 of June 30, 2012, as a landmark decision and a real opportunity to accomplish a political solution to spare Syria and the region more bloodshed. We hope this resolution fortify international peace and security, especially that Syria has become a hotbed of terrorists due to the terrorism practiced by Assad and his mercenaries.” Jarba addressed the delegation of the regime, stressing that “we entirely agreed to the terms of Geneva I, and we want to make sure that we had a Syrian partner whose homeland takes precedence on the Assad regime. I call on this partner to immediately sign the Geneva I Communique, so that a political transition is implemented through the formation of a transitional ruling body with full executive powers, after which we can lay the first brick in the construction of the new Syria. Jarba concluded his remarks saying: “My question is straightforward: Do we really have this partner? Time in Syria is blood.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)