The United States will have to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a political transition in Syria and is exploring ways to pressure him into agreeing to talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told CBS News in an interview. In the interview broadcast on Sunday, Kerry did not repeat the standard U.S. line that Assad had lost all legitimacy and had to go. "We have to negotiate in the end," Kerry said. "We've always been willing to negotiate in the context of the Geneva I process," he added, referring to a 2012 conference which called for a negotiated transition to end the conflict. Kerry said the United States and other countries, which he did not name, were exploring ways to reignite the diplomatic process to end the conflict in Syria. "What we're pushing for is to get him (Assad) to come and do that, and it may require that there be increased pressure on him of various kinds in order to do that," the secretary of state said. "We've made it very clear to people that we are looking at increased steps that can help bring about that pressure," he added. "To get the Assad regime to negotiate, we're going to have to make it clear to him that there is a determination by everybody to seek that political outcome and change his calculation about negotiating," Kerry said. "That's under way right now. And I am convinced that, with the efforts of our allies and others, there will be increased pressure on Assad."
However his proposal to talk to Assad was dismissed by the Assad regime as the Syrian President said "any talk about the future of the Syrian president is for Syrian people alone. Syria is not concerned about comments made abroad," in an interview with an Iranian TV. He said "We are still hearing the declarations and we should wait for actions and then decide."
European countries disagreed with Kerry as France and the UK said Assad cannot be part of the negotiations. A Foreign Office spokeswoman from the UK said "Assad has no place in Syria's future." "As the (British) foreign secretary said last week, we will continue applying sanctions pressure to the regime until it reassesses its position, ends the violence and engages in meaningful negotiations with the moderate opposition," the statement said. France said on Monday it was maintaining its opposition to talks with Assad. France's Foreign Ministry referred to comments by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the end of February saying that talks had to include elements of the existing regime and opposition members that would pave the way to a unity government. "It is clear that for us Bashar al-Assad cannot be included within this framework," the foreign ministry, said citing Fabius.
Gulf Arab governments also opposed Kerry's words. "The fact that Assad is still in the picture is something we have lived with and accepted as an interim arrangement. If Mr. Kerry was talking about this same interim arrangement - one year or two years until negotiations reach some fruit - we understand," said Sami al-Faraj, a Kuwaiti adviser to the Gulf Cooperation Council that comprises Gulf Arab states.
