Sunday, January 26, 2014

Liz Sly: the humor of the day from Geneva

"In one possible sign of the government’s misgivings about the talks, the most senior members of its delegation stayed away from Saturday’s sessions. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, the head of the delegation, as well as Zoubi, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban, did not attend. The government delegation was headed by Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari.

A U.S. official in Geneva, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the failure of the top officials to attend demonstrates “that they do not represent the best interests of the Syrian people, who deserve real negotiations to end the war and the suffering.”  You read this and then you read this in passing:  "the head of the opposition’s delegation, Ahmad al-Jarba, also did not attend."