Syria peace talks open with angry exchanges

Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on December 10, 2013. Kerry stated Wednesday during talks that there was “no way possible” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could remain in power. Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images

Despite United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s best attempts to urge constructive dialogue, the opening day of peace talks opened Wednesday in Montreux, Switzerland with bitter arguments between Syria’s government and the National Coalition — its main political opposition.

The summit, which includes the discussion over political transition in Syria and aims to bring an end to the three-year conflict which has left over 100,000 people dead and more than a million displaced, found the opposing sides sticking steadfast to its positions.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that millions of Syrians were “relying on the international community to find a solution to save their lives and their country,” stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could not be allowed to remain in power.

“There is no way, no way possible, that a man who has led a brutal response to his own people can regain legitimacy to govern,” Kerry said in his opening remarks.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem jabbed back at Kerry, saying that there was nobody in “the world has the right to confer or withdraw the legitimacy of a president, a constitution or a law, except for the Syrians themselves.”

Muallem said that some of the parties in attendance had “Syrian blood on their hands,” and directed aggressive questions at the opposition. “Where is your vision for this great country,” he asked. “Where are your ideas? Where is your political program? What are the tools on the ground? I am quite sure you have nothing.”

The foreign minister also rejected repeated attempts by Ban to intervene during his 30-minute speech, exceeding the speaking allotment of 10 minutes. “You live in New York. I live in Syria,” said Muallem to the secretary-general, “I have the right to give the Syrian version here. After three years of suffering, this is my right.”

Ban Ki-moon allowed Muallem to finish his speech, but said that the constructive mood of the summit had been broken, adding “I hope this will not be repeated.”

Ahmad Jarba, the head of Syria’s National Coalition, raised the issue of the alleged torture and execution of opposition detainees in the country, using a photograph from a report released Tuesday by three war crimes investigators. Jarba added that the opposition’s choice to raise arms was not their own, but instead a choice “imposed by the Syrian regime.”

The opening talks will continue in Montreaux Wednesday before moving to a U.N. office in Geneva, Switzerland on Jan. 24.