Jarba explains refusal to participate in Geneva II

NOT QUITE IN LEAGUE: After the Arab League “encouraged” the Syrian Coalition to attend the Geneva II talks in an emergency session late Sunday,Coalition Ahmad al-Jarba told Arab representatives that he must say “no to Geneva II if the international community cannot implement Geneva I.”

Al-Jarba insisted that the Coalition’s decision was final,emphasizing that his organization would only attend with “dignity and unity” and guarantees that the conference would serve as a mechanism for transferring power away from the Assad government.

In an editorial published Monday, pro-Assad Al-Watan newspaper condemned Jarba’s conditions for participating in Geneva II, insisting that his stance “violates international calls for all parties to attend the conference.” 

In his remarks in Cairo, Al-Jarba condemned the international community’s Syria crisis response, pointing to its failure to establish humanitarian corridors reaching besieged areas. Al-Jarba also ruled out Iranian participation in the proposed talks, characterizing Iran as an occupying power and demanding the withdrawal of all Revolutionary Guards from Syrian territory.

Video courtesy of the Syrian Coalition.

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