DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – A top Syrian official said on Wednesday that the opposition must let go of its “dream” for a transitional government, saying that such a thing amounts to a coup d’etat and “will never be accepted.”
A transitional government is the centerpiece of the peace program that the United States, Russia and other world powers agreed on at a 2012 Geneva Conference. The terms have been intentionally left vague and are supposed to be worked out in negotiations resuming this week – but the presumption, at least in the opposition’s mind, is that a transitional government means one without President Bashar Assad.
“This will not happen, not now, nor tomorrow nor ever,” Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said of opposition’s calls for Assad’s departure. He spoke to The Associated Press in Damascus Wednesday, ahead of the resumption of indirect peace talks in Geneva which the U.N. envoy says will focus on a political transition.
Assad recently floated the idea of a national unity government, rejecting the opposition demand for a transitional ruling body. Mekdad echoed the rejection Wednesday.
“We believe such an idea has failed, it is outdated, it will never be acceptable. This amounts in fact to a coup d’etat. People organize a certain rebellion and then they get power. This will never happen in Syria,” he said.