BICOM

Western and Arab supporters of the Syrian opposition coalition will meet in Turkey over the weekend at the Friends of Syria forum to discuss a variety of issues, including the shape of a post-conflict Syria.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told US senators yesterday that the meeting in Istanbul, which will also be attended by Foreign Secretary William Hague, will focus on trying “to get everybody on the same page with respect to what post-Assad” Syria will look like. Kerry expressed optimism that “Everybody has now accepted a concern about extremist elements who have forced their way into this picture, and there is a desire by all parties to move those extremist elements to the side and to give support, I believe, to the Syrian opposition.” He described this as “a big step forward.”

However, Kerry also advocated urgency, warning that “time is not on the side of a political solution. It’s on the side of more violence, more extremism, an enclave breakup of Syria” and that the longer the violence continues, he fears “very dangerous sectarian confrontation over the long term, and the potential of really bad people getting hold of chemical weapons.” Kerry’s comments echoed a similar warning from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who earlier this week told BBC that such a weapons transfer would be a potential “game changer.” The possible use of chemical weapons by President Assad’s forces and the flow of arms to opposition groups are expected to be high on the Friends of Syria agenda.

However, according to AFP, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the Friends of Syria forum as “making a negative contribution” towards resolving the Syrian conflict. Russia is a staunch ally of President Assad and has repeatedly vetoed United Nations sanctions aimed at his government.