Syrian opposition urged to join talks
2013-02-25 17:41
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London - US Secretary of State John Kerry urged members
of the Syrian opposition to turn up for talks in Rome this week, insisting that
more help is on the way in their fight against President Bashar Assad.
Kerry was in London for the first leg of his debut
overseas trip - a hectic nine-country dash through Europe and the Middle East.
The tail end of that trip will be a Syrian opposition
conference in Rome, which some members of the sharply divided Syrian opposition
council have threatened to boycott.
Kerry appealed directly to the opposition, telling a
London press conference on Monday that he is hopeful they will join the talks
and is confident that steps will be taken to stem "unacceptable"
bloodshed in Syria.
The UN says at least 70 000 people have been killed in
Syria's two-year civil war, which began as an uprising against Assad's regime.
"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not
going to be dangling in the wind, wondering where the support is, if it is
coming," he said.
"We are not going to let the Syrian opposition not
have its ability to have its voice properly heard in this process."
Kerry said the Syrian people "deserve better"
than the violence currently gripping their country as he stood alongside
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Hague also stressed the need for action, saying an
"appalling injustice" is being done to Syrian citizens.
"In the face of such murder and threat of
instability, our policy cannot stay static as the weeks go by," Hague told
the press conference.
"We must significantly increase support for the
Syrian opposition. We are preparing to do just that."
- SAPA
