US calls on Syria opposition to attend Geneva II

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Syria’s divided foreign-backed opposition to join the upcoming peace conference in Geneva.

Kerry said in remarks published on Thursday that the purpose of the Geneva II conference is to find a way to install a transitional government.

“For anyone seeking to rewrite this history or to muddy the waters, let me state one more time what Geneva II is about,” Kerry said. “It is about establishing a process essential to the formation of a transition governing body with full executive powers established by mutual consent.”

The US secretary of state said the opposition can veto any names, including President Bashar al-Assad, for an interim leadership.

Kerry also said that the talks in Geneva are the only way to end the deadly crisis in Syria.

The deeply divided foreign-backed opposition will vote on Friday on whether to attend the peace talks.

The Geneva II conference will open in the Swiss city of Montreux on January 22. The conference is seen as a chance to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

A recent British defense study published by IHS Jane’s showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.

On January 7, the UN said its human rights office had stopped counting the victims of the Syrian conflict, confirming that it could no longer verify the sources of information that led to its last count.

In late July 2013, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that there were more than 100,000 casualties from the war in Syria. The office was only counting victims whose names, place and date of death could be confirmed.