Page 9 - ATODAY
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Monday 14 March 2016
U.S. envoy John Kerry meets Europe’s top diplomats in Paris
SYLVIE CORBET country, factions arrayed ing Assad during the tran- French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault, left, and United
Associated Press against the government sitional period was “a red States Secretary of State John Kerry, attend a meeting at the
PARIS (AP) — U.S. Secretary turned against one an- line,” adding that the gov- Quai d’Orsay ministry in Paris, Sunday, March 13, 2016.
of State John Kerry called other in an effort to assert ernment rejected the U.N.
for the resumption of Syria their dominance during envoy’s call for presidential Associated Press
peace talks Monday in Ge- the cease-fire. Al-Qaeda elections to be held in the
neva following a meeting militants swept through a next 18 months. “Political unity and an in- mining the peace process.
with France’s new foreign rebel-held town in northern Kerry said Moallam’s com- clusive and functioning The issue will be discussed
minister and other senior Syria, arresting U.S.-backed ments “clearly tried to dis- government is the only way at a meeting of EU foreign
European diplomats. fighters and looting weap- rupt the process” of nego- to put an end to the insta- ministers in Brussels on Mon-
Foreign Minister Jean-Marc ons stores belonging to the tiations. bility that has fueled the day.
Ayrault hosted Sunday’s Free Syrian Army. Kerry insisted that both Iran development of terrorism in Additionally, diplomats
meeting in Paris which also Delegations from the Syrian and Russia — supporters of Libya,” the statement said. have discussed a possible
included his British, German government and opposi- the Syrian regime — have Libya fell into chaos after initiative to restart the Pal-
and Italian counterparts, tion, represented in part adopted “an approach the 2011 toppling and kill- estinian-Israeli peace pro-
and the European Union’s by the Saudi-backed High which dictates that there ing of longtime leader, cess, as France hopes to
foreign policy chief. Negotiations Committee, must be a political tran- Moammar Gadhafi. The host an international con-
The meeting comes ahead arrived in Geneva Sunday, sition and that we must country is ruled by two ference on the issue in the
of U.N.-sponsored indirect but with conflicting visions move toward a presiden- competing governments coming months. The new
peace talks on Syria, which for the talks. tial election at some point since 2014: an interna- French Mideast peace
are scheduled to start Mon- HNC spokesman Salem of time.” tionally-recognized body envoy, Pierre Vimont, will
day in Geneva amid a par- Mislet said the opposition The last round of indirect based in the eastern city travel to Washington next
tial cease-fire that came would discuss the establish- talks collapsed on Feb. of Tobruk and a rival one, week to discuss France’s
into force two weeks ago ment of a transitional gov- 3 over a Russian-backed backed by Islamist-allied proposal, Ayrault said.
and has mostly held. erning body in which Syr- government offensive in militias, in Tripoli. Yemen’s civil war and the
“We look forward to the re- ian President Bashar Assad Aleppo. European Union countries Ukraine peace process
sumption of talks in Gene- and his associates would As the Syrian civil war en- are preparing possible were also on the agenda
va on Monday,” Kerry said have no role. ters its sixth year, Kerry reaf- sanctions against officials of the Paris talks.q
in a joint news conference “The Syrian people have firmed the “determination” in Libya blamed for under- ___
with his counterparts. submitted half a million of the U.S.-led coalition
Fighting has continued in- martyrs not to keep Assad against the Islamic State
side Syria but to a lesser in power for a longer pe- group in Iraq and Syria, “to
degree than in February. riod but in order to termi- defeat this barbaric orga-
Government forces ad- nate his presence and to nization.”
vanced on the ancient city put an end to the suffering The meeting’s participants
of Palmyra, which is held of the Syrian people and also issued a joint state-
by the Islamic State group, also to put an end to the ment on Libya to express
while continuing to clash terrorism that targeted the their support for the U.N.-
with jihadists and rebels in region,” he said. sponsored unity govern-
other parts of the country But Syrian Foreign Minister ment and call for its quick
Sunday. Walid al-Moallam said Sat- installation in the country’s
In the northern part of the urday any talk of remov- capital, Tripoli.
