Russia, Iran support idea of talks in Syria

BEIRUT — A faint glimmer of hope of breaking the diplomatic standoff on Syria has emerged as two key allies, Russia and Iran, reacted positively to a leading opposition figure’s surprise offer of conditional talks with the government of President Bashar Assad.

Officials from the two countries spoke approvingly of the offer at a global security meeting that ended Sunday in Munich, Germany. At the same time, Israel’s defense minister seemed to acknowledge that his country was responsible for last week’s airstrike on Syrian territory — an attack that Israel has not officially confirmed but which has raised the ominous specter of a wider regional war.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters at the Munich conference that the attack in Syria was “proof that when we say something, we mean it.” The comment was widely interpreted as indirect confirmation that Israeli warplanes conducted the Wednesday strike, which reportedly targeted a Syrian arms convoy destined for the militant group Hezbollah, Syria’s ally and Israel’s avowed adversary.

His remarks somewhat overshadowed the potentially promising developments on the long-stalled diplomatic front. Both Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, seemed to give their blessing to an effort by Syrian opposition figure Moaz Khatib to open talks with Assad.

“This is a very important step, particularly taking into account that the [opposition] coalition was created on a platform of categorical rejection of any conversation with the regime,” Lavrov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Moscow and Tehran are widely viewed as the only international interlocutors able to exert influence or pressure on Assad, who has vowed not to step down despite an almost two-year rebellion that has left tens of thousands dead, millions homeless and much of the country in ruins.

Khatib, who heads a Western-backed dissident coalition forged in November, broke a taboo among many opposition advocates and declared last week that he would be willing to speak with Assad’s representatives under two conditions — the release of 160,000 Syrian prisoners and the renewal of passports for Syrian exiles. Khatib first made the offer in a Facebook posting, then reiterated it in Munich, where he met with high-ranking Iranian, Russian and U.S. officials, including Vice President Joe Biden.

“As a gesture of goodwill, we say, just to ease the pain of the Syrian people … we are ready to sit at the negotiating table with the regime,” Khatib told reporters, adding that he still favored overthrowing Assad “by peaceful means.”

Despite the offer, no breakthrough in Syria appears imminent. Many obstacles remain. There are no scheduled negotiations as the fighting drags on.

The United States and its allies, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have insisted that Assad must go, a condition rejected by Russia, which has used its veto power on three occasions in the United Nations Security Council to block international action against Assad.

In Munich, Biden reiterated the White House position that “President Assad, a tyrant hell-bent on clinging to power, is no longer fit to lead the Syrian people and he must go.”

On the battlefield, however, many experts see a stalemate in which neither side can prevail. The rise of Islamic militants among the fragmented rebel battalions has troubled the White House and helped scuttle proposals to provide sophisticated weaponry to opposition forces.

Meanwhile, Khatib’s suggestion of talks with Damascus has caused a backlash among fellow dissidents who insist that Assad must resign before any negotiations can take place. Some have even accused Khatib — a respected Sunni Muslim preacher and an engineer from a well-known family of Islamic scholars in Damascus — of selling out a sacred cause.

Amid the outcry, Khatib said he was speaking for himself, not for the umbrella group that he heads, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. But any formal talks with the Assad government would presumably require the approval of the full coalition.

The Syrian government does not seem likely to comply with Khatib’s demands for a wholesale release of prisoners and the renewal of the passports of many of its most bitter expatriate critics. Damascus has yet to comment publicly on Khatib’s offer of talks. Assad recently renewed calls for dialogue with the opposition, but he has repeatedly excluded “terrorists,” a term he has used broadly against both rebel fighters and their political supporters.

Still, both Russia and Iran seemed to view Khatib’s offer as an encouraging development. In private, officials in Moscow and Tehran have reportedly voiced concerns that sticking with Assad could have disastrous consequences if he is ultimately overthrown.

Lavrov was quoted Saturday as saying that Khatib’s offer demonstrated that “realism has prevailed.” He added, “Of course, this does not guarantee that a dialogue will begin, at least because the opposition does not have a negotiating team.”

Iran’s Salehi called Khatib’s initiative “a good step forward,” adding that he had a “very good meeting” with Khatib in Munich. The Iranian diplomat backed the idea of the opposition and the government entering into negotiations for new elections in Syria.

Meanwhile, violence continued to rage in Syria, especially in the embattled northern city of Aleppo. The historic city, which had been the nation’s economic hub, is gradually being destroyed amid a battle for control by rebel and government forces that began in July.

On Sunday, opposition activists reported that government rockets hit a five-story residential building in the rebel-held Ansari district, killing at least nine people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based pro-opposition group. The group also said that rebels had executed four men in Aleppo accused of complicity with government security services.

In addition, the group confirmed reports in the state-run press that rebels in Aleppo killed a former member of parliament, Ibrahim Azooz, his wife and two daughters. The opposition group said the four were “summarily executed.”

In a statement, Assad accused Israel of trying to “destabilize and weaken Syria,” and vowed that the nation would repel “aggression.”

For the first time, state television aired footage of what it said was a scientific research center outside Damascus bombed by the Israelis. Western sources have described the target as an arms convoy. Footage showed a beige building with broken windows and other damage, along with destroyed vehicles outside that may have suffered direct hits.

Times staff writer Edmund Sanders in Jerusalem contributed to this report.