Anti-Assad states to meet amid concerns over US policy on Syria

Countries opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will meet on Friday for the first time since Donald Trump’s US administration took office, to seek common ground ahead of United Nations-backed peace talks in Geneva next week.

The talks on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers meeting come as the Syrian President, backed by Russia and Iran, is in his strongest position since the early days of the civil war, and as Trump’s policy on Syria remains unclear.

“It’s urgent to meet to see whether all the like-minded countries are on the same page,” said a senior French diplomatic source. “It’s a chance to get everyone pushing in the same direction before the Geneva talks.”

He said the meeting between the US, France, Britain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia and others would be the first opportunity to “test” US secretary of state Rex Tillerson’s position on Syria and how that fit into the new administration’s thinking on defeating Islamist militants.

A second European diplomat said it was unclear to what extent Tillerson represented the views of Trump himself.

“On the fight against Islamic State, we’re comforted, but the question remains what will be the relationship with Russia? The Americans will gradually realise that everything is linked and that the fight against ISIS and an alliance with Moscow also implies choices in the region and a long-term vision,” the first source said.

“You can’t just do a grand deal with Moscow and hope things will be resolved.”

Turkey, which has been a major supporter of the rebellion against Assad, has – with Russia and Iran – brokered a shaky ceasefire.

The ceasefire had got off to a shaky start, with monitors and a rebel official reporting clashes between insurgents and government forces along the provincial boundary between Idlib and Hama, and isolated incidents of gunfire further south less than two hours after the truce began. However, later warring sides appeared to have stopped firing in many other areas.

“It’s also urgent that we see where Turkey stands in light of the newfound proximity with Russia and Iran,” the source said, adding that it would be vital to assess how Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and Qatar – opposed to Assad – saw the conflict after “pulling back a little”.