Saudi Gazette report MONTREUX, Switzerland – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal reiterated on Wednesday that there can be no role in Syria's transition for President Bashar Al-Assad and those whose hands are “stained in blood.” In a speech to an international conference on Syria, Prince Saud said the Kingdom's participation came upon guarantees and assertions contained in the invitation of UN Secretary General, which stresses that the aim of Geneva II is the full application of what have been mentioned in Geneva I Conference. “We realized that the most important content of this announcement is the formation of a transition government with full powers in order to manage the State affairs from political, security and military aspects. Bashar Al-Assad or any of his regime's symbols whose hands are stained with blood of Syrians will have no current or future role in this arrangement,” Prince Saud asserted. He warned against any attempts to change the course of the conference. He listed four priority points to “get Syria out of the dark tunnel”: First: Immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces and armed elements from the Syrian territories, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Hezbollah militia. Second: Stopping fighting, including air strikes and artillery fires by the regime, and lifting the siege on cities and villages. Third: Finding safe areas and corridors for the delivery of aid to the Syrians under international supervision. Fourth: Releasing prisoners and detainees held by the Syrian regime. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened proceedings at Montreux by calling for immediate access for humanitarian aid convoys to areas under siege. “After nearly three painful years of conflict and suffering in Syria, today is a day of fragile but real hope,” Ban said, condemning a record of human rights abuses across the board. He urged both sides in Syria to reach a full settlement based on the 2012 UN Geneva Communique, under which world powers called for a transitional government. “Great challenges lie ahead but they are not insurmountable,” he added. Many of the more than 40 government representatives echoed concerns about the human cost of the war and the dangers of escalation posed by heavily armed international militants. Syrian National Coalition (SNC) leader Ahmed Jarba accused President Bashar Al-Assad of Nazi-style war crimes and demanded the Syrian government delegation at the one-day meeting in Switzerland immediately sign up to an international plan for handing over power. He called for the government delegation to turn against their president before negotiations start: “We agree completely with Geneva 1.” “We want to make sure we have a partner in this room that goes from being a Bashar Al-Assad delegation to a free delegation so that all executive powers are transferred from Bashar Al-Assad,” he added. “My question is clear. Do we have such a partner?“ Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem exchanged sharp words with Ban as he spoke well beyond a 10-minute limit. — With agencies
