Kerry says Syria's Assad must go but timing negotiable

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has to go but the timing of his departure should be decided through negotiations.

American position 'clear' on Syria (US embassy in Turkey)

The position of the United States is clear and unchanged about Syria, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey said Tuesday.

Turkish government gets OK for military operations in Syria, Iraq. The mandate to begin tomorrow will last for one year.

A comprehensive motion authorizing the government to deploy the Turkish army into Iraq and Syria and to allow the deployment of foreign troops on Turkish soil was approved Oct. 2 in Parliament, providing the necessary legality for Turkey’s potential contribution to the international coalition’s efforts to destroy jihadists.

The motion, based on Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution, received 298 votes in favor and 98 against.

Secret UK plan to "train 100,000 Syria rebels" exposed. (at bases in Turkey and Jordan)

A plan to train and equip a 100,000-strong rebel army to defeat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was drawn up by Britain, then scrapped as it was deemed too risky, BBC Newsnight reported on Thursday.
The alleged proposal, put forward two years ago, was the idea of General David Richards, then chief of Britain's defense, according to the BBC.

The secret "extract, equip, train" proposal was considered by Prime Minister David Cameron and the National Security Council, as well as U.S. officials, the BBC said, citing Whitehall sources.

Kerry urges Assad's allies to end Syria war

BEIRUT: US Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed Syria's election as a "great big zero" on Wednesday, urging President Bashar al-Assad's allies Iran, Russia and Hezbollah to end the country's three-year war.

His remarks during a surprise trip to Beirut came ahead of the publication of official results from the election, dubbed a "disgrace" by Washington.

Kerry also announced US$290 million in humanitarian aid for Syria and neighbouring countries hosting refugees, key among them Lebanon.

Syria hails big turnout in presidential poll

Voting extended for five hours in first Syrian election for 50 years, which incumbent Assad seems certain to win....

Syrians are voting in a presidential election which the incumbent Bashar al-Assad is widely expected to win.
State television said on Tuesday that voting had been extended for five hours "because of the massive influx of voters". Polls will now close at 9pm GMT.

Syrian opposition insists Assad should go as past

Ahmad al-Jarba said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had assured the Syrian opposition that Moscow was not holding on to Assad.....

GENEVA, January 23, 23:49 /ITAR-TASS/. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should go as his government is in the past, National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces leader Ahmad al-Jarba said at a press conference in Geneva on Thursday, January 23.
“We have started to look into the future without him. Assad and all of his regime is in the past now. Nobody should have any doubt that the head of the regime is finished. This regime is dead,” Jarba said, adding, “If Assad were able to rule Syria, we wouldn’t have been here today,” Jarba said.

Syrian peace talks stuck over Assad's future

MONTREUX (Switzerland): Peace talks intended to carve a path out of Syria's civil war got off to a rocky start on Wednesday as a bitter clash over President Bashar Assad's future threatened to collapse the negotiations even before they really begin.

The dispute over Assad cast a pall over the start of an international peace conference that aims to map out a transitional government and ultimately a democratic election for the war-torn Middle East nation.

While diplomats sparred against a pristine Alpine backdrop, Syrian forces and opposition fighters clashed across a wide area from Aleppo and Idlib in the north to Daraa in the south, where the uprising against Assad began three years ago, activists and state media said.