Merkel's suggestion about talks with al-Assad hit wall of skepticism

[Sally]

Looks like there are those who are adverse to including Assad in talks.

25 September 2015

Merkel's suggestion about talks with al-Assad hit wall of skepticism

Merkel's suggestion about talks with al-Assad hit wall of skeptic - © Bernd von Jutrczenka, dpa

Merkel's suggestion about talks with al-Assad hit wall of skeptic - © Sana Handout, EPA
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By dpa correspondents
Berlin/Brussels/Moscow (dpa) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's willingness to include Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in talks about a resolution of the conflict met with a wall of scepticism across the political spectrum on Thursday.

Even her foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, backpedalled on her declaration.

Direct negotiations with al-Assad should not be the first object in opening negotiations, he said. "That's not the question that should be brought first to the table," Steinmeier said. "It's a question of stopping the fighting after five years of war in Syria."

Merkel made her comments after the EU summit on refugees in Brussels early on Thursday morning.

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