The series of terrorist attacks in Paris have stimulated international efforts to end the four-year conflict in Syria, with a new deadline set for negotiations between the warring parties.
The grim news from France inevitably overshadowed the second meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in Vienna on Saturday, a day after the attacks in Paris that killed 132 people and injured several others.
The ISSG includes 17 countries-- China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United Nations-- and European Union, UN, and Arab League.
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However, the widest forum convened to discuss how to accelerate an end to the Syrian conflict.
The 19 participants in the ISSG began with a moment of silence for the victims of the heinous terrorist attacks of November 13 in Paris and the recent attacks in Beirut, Iraq, Ankara, and Egypt.
The members unanimously condemned in the strongest terms these brutal attacks against innocent civilians and stood with the people of France.
Subsequently, the participants engaged in a constructive dialogue to build upon the progress made in the October 30 gathering.
The members of the ISSG expressed a unanimous sense of urgency to end the suffering of the Syrian people, the physical destruction of Syria, the destabilisation of the region, and the resulting increase in terrorists drawn to the fighting in Syria.
The US, Russia, Britain, France, Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a statement supporting a January 1 deadline for the start of talks between the Syrian government and opposition, with the aim of agreeing a ceasefire by 14 May.
The participants in the ISSG also mandated Jordan to draw up a list of anti-Assad rebel groups which could take part in peace talks.
That will exclude Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate, which are both banned by the UN.
Both could be attacked even when a broader ceasefire is in place, the statement said.
It further added: “The ISSG acknowledged the close linkage between a ceasefire and a parallel political process pursuant to the 2012 Geneva Communique, and that both initiatives should move ahead expeditiously.”
The participants also stated their commitment to ensure a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition based on the Geneva Communique in its entirety.
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The five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council pledged to support a UNSC resolution to empower a UN-endorsed ceasefire monitoring mission in those parts of the country where monitors would not come under threat of attacks from terrorists.
Welcoming UN Secretary General's statement on accelerate planning for supporting the implementation of a nationwide ceasefire, the agreed that the UN should lead the effort, in consultation with interested parties.
It also expressed concern for the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons and the imperative of building conditions for their safe return in accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law and taking into account the interests of host countries.
The ISSG also reaffirmed the devastating effects of the use of indiscriminate weapons on the civilian population and humanitarian access.
The ISSG members reaffirmed their support for the transition process contained in the 2012 Geneva Communique.
In this respect they affirmed their support for a ceasefire as described above and for a Syrian-led process that will, within a target of six months, establish credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance, and set a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution.
Free and fair elections would be held pursuant to the new constitution within 18 months.
These elections must be administered under UN supervision to the satisfaction of the governance and to the highest international standards of transparency and accountability, with all Syrians, including the diaspora, eligible to participate.
