Formation of a New Working Group to Identify Terrorist Groups in Syria

The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs stated that at the third Syrian peace meeting, an agreement was reached to form a working group consisting of seven countries: Iran, Russia, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, and France, to compile a list of 'terrorist groups' in Syria and present it to the United Nations. According to ISNA news agency, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced on Saturday, December 19, that there was a 'fundamental disagreement' regarding the 'definition of terrorist groups' opposing Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, during the meeting held in New York. He noted that Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, prevented a biased list regarding terrorist groups from being approved with his arguments, and it was ultimately agreed that a working group would be formed to compile this list and present it to the UN. Based on the second round of Syrian peace talks, Jordan was supposed to provide a list of groups that should be classified as terrorist organizations. However, the list presented by Jordan at the New York meeting became controversial as it included the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as one of the 157 active terrorist groups in Syria. This led to a strong reaction from Zarif, and the Jordanian Foreign Minister responded to Zarif's protest by stating that 'we have asked all parties involved in the Syrian issue to announce the names of groups they believe are committing terrorist acts in Syria, and the name of the IRGC was provided not by Jordan, but by one of the countries.' The latest round of Syrian peace talks was held on Friday in New York with the participation of foreign ministers from the US, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and several other European and Middle Eastern countries. According to the Vienna negotiations last month, a list of groups opposing Bashar al-Assad is to be prepared, and Syrian government officials and opposition members will begin their negotiations for the power transition process in Syria starting January 1. Meanwhile, fifteen member countries of the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on the Syrian peace process on Friday, December 18. This resolution calls for the establishment of a 'legitimate, inclusive, and non-sectarian government' within the next six months and states that 'free and fair elections will be held within 18 months based on a new constitution.' The approval of such a resolution is an unprecedented sign of agreement on the issue of the war in Syria. However, John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, stated on Friday that the process of achieving peace in Syria will be difficult. On the same day, Barack Obama, the US President, called for the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, stating that he has 'lost his legitimacy among the Syrian people.' In this context, a senior Western diplomat told Reuters that 'the Russians have also privately accepted that Bashar al-Assad should leave at the end of the transition period, but they are not yet ready to announce this publicly.' Nevertheless, Amir-Abdollahian emphasized in his remarks on Saturday that Tehran, Moscow, and 'a number of participating countries' in the third Syrian peace meeting believe that no one can decide on behalf of the Syrian people. He added, 'Whether Bashar al-Assad runs again at the end of the political process is up to him, and ultimately the Syrian people will decide.'