United States and 10 Other Nations Support Talks to End Syrian Civil War; Syrian Moderates Unsure

The United States, along with 10 European and Arab nations, publicly supported the convening of a peace conference in Geneva in November to negotiate an end to the brutal civil war in Syria. 

Secretary of State John Kerry said that the moderate Syrian opposition has not yet decided if they will attend the peace talks, The New York Times reports. "They have to make up their mind," Kerry said at a news conference in London. "And none of us are going to prejudge or precondition what they will choose to do in that process."

Ahmad Assi al-Jarba, the president of the Syrian opposition coalition, and other rebel leaders will assemble in a week or two to decide whether or not they will participate in the conference. 

The nations that support the talks--who are called the "London 11"-- endorsed many points that are important to the Syrian opposition, but were lacking some crucial elements. 

On Tuesday, the London 11 said that a transitional government would replace the Bashar al-Assad regime. They said Assad and his associates would be ousted from power, and that the Assad regime "with blood on their hands will have no role in Syria." That contention is in stark contrast with Assad's intentions, who said in an interview that he is thinking of running for re-election in 2014. 

The public statement also called for increased support for the political and military aspects of the moderate Syrian opposition, but did not say what assistance would be provided. 

Although the communiqué stated that a transitional government would be established "within the coming months," it did not set an actual deadline for creating a government by "mutual consent" of opposition members and Syrian government officials. The document outlined a number of "confidence-building measures," such as telling the government to end its "siege of urban areas" and having "local cease-fires" to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians whose homes have been devastated by more than two years of civil war. 

Yet, the moderate opposition has been wary of joining the talks while the Assad regime continues its attacks out of fear that it will undermine its credibility with Syrians inside the country. 

The moderate opposition, which operates from exile in Turkey, had a schism last month, in which a number of rebel commanders signed a statement breaking with the opposition's leadership. They called for the rebel groups to unify in "a clear Islamic frame."

British foreign secretary William Hague said in an interview with the BBC that it's important to strengthen the moderate opposition to offset the influence gained by Islamic extremists. 

"The reason we have to make sure we are supporting and dealing with the moderate opposition committed to a democratic, pluralistic, nonsectarian future for Syria is precisely because if they don't have a role, then all the Syrian people have got left is a choice between Assad and extremists," Hague said.

Martin Nesirky, a United Nations spokesman, said that preparatory meetings for the talks should be held on Nov. 5 involving the U.S., Russia and Lakhdar Brahimi, the special United Nations envoy for Syria. The meeting would then be followed by three other permanent Security Council members-- Britain, France and China. 

According to The Times, Kerry said he is optimistic that the moderate Syrian opposition will participate in the peace conference. 

Efforts to get peace talks underway have intensified as the conditions are worsening for Syrian civilians. The civil war has left more than 100,000 dead and millions displaced since the war began in March 2011 as a peaceful protest against Assad's regime. 

The State Department has denounced the Assad government for blocking humanitarian aid such as food, water and medicine to trapped civilians in the beleaguered Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya, where civilians have been eating leaves off trees due to lack of food and some have died of malnutrition. 

Despite reports of Saudi ire directed at the the U.S., Kerry said that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are now "on the same page" regarding the dire situation in Syria. The other nations involved in the forthcoming talks are Britain, Jordan, France, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.