Fighting terrorism should be priority of Geneva II talks: Syria FM

Syria Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem says fighting terrorism must be the priority of the Geneva II Conference.

Muallem said on Wednesday that the priority is “to fight terrorism and this paves the way for the start of the political process,” official SANA news agency reported.

The conference kicked off on Wednesday morning in the Swiss city of Montreux in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria.

The Syrian Foreign Minister also dismissed the so-called Syrian National Council, which is supported by the West, stressing that the council does not represent the “Syrian opposition.”

The so-called Syrian National Council and its Western supporters including the United States insist that President Bashar al-Assad must step down and a transitional government be formed.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said during the conference that there was no room for Assad in the future government of Syria

Muallem, however, dismissed the remarks in his speech, noting, “No one in the world has the right to confer or withdraw the legitimacy of a president, a constitution or a law, except for the Syrians themselves.”

Muallem also expressed regret that some countries attending the international conference “have the blood of Syrian people on their hands.”

Syria has been gripped by deadly crisis since March 2011. According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence.