Syrian Coalition: Time for Diplomacy is Over after Setbacks at Geneva II

Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian Coalition, said the speeches delivered by countries who claim they support the Syrian people are futile, stressing that they cannot respond to the daily massacres committed against the Syrian people. “These speeches cannot end the ongoing massacres committed by the butcher of our time, aided by sectarian mercenaries and covered by his regional backers,” Jarba told the opening session of a two-day meeting of the Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. “We have to move on from the description of the case to discuss our needs, especially in light of the ongoing massacres against the Syrian people, because the talk is no longer enough to address our demands. We went to Geneva II bypassing countless obstacles and backed by international guarantees and Arabic cover, and relying on our oppressed steadfast people. Everyone saw the practices of the Assad regime on the ground and during the negotiations to sabotage the peace conference.” Jarba went on: “We accepted to negotiate even though Assad’s forces were raining barrel bombs down on Syrian cities and the rising number of victims and mercenaries who have been flocking from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran to Syria. Those sectarian mercenaries are invading Yabroud from all sides in one of the most impudent sectarian invasions driven by long-lived feud of Iran’s Ayatollahs.” Furthermore, Jarba denounced the ineffective Arab and international positions towards the atrocities committed in Syria. “How long will we continue to limit ourselves to the fruitless speeches, and hide behind the walls of the blame and complain?” Jarba calls on everyone to “support the Syrian people with the advanced weapons that we have long promised to receive. Had the scourge of Hezbollah been dealt while it was budding in Lebanon, they would not have plagued us the way they are doing now.” Jarba concluded his speech to the Arab foreign ministers saying that “time for diplomacy is over after the setback at Geneva II and the vindictive invasion of Yabrood. The Assad regime responded to our positive attitude of Geneva II by sending a clear message rejecting a political solution through intensifying the indiscriminate and brutal shelling on the unarmed civilians across Syria” Jarba asked the Arab states to adopt a unified, not necessarily unanimous decision to deter aggression on us, starting from Syria.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)