Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's political future has been a divisive issue as delegations from more than 30 countries, the United Nations and Syria's warring sides meet for a long-awaited peace conference in Switzerland.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sharply criticized the Syrian government Wednesday, saying the country's crisis began as soldiers used "increasing force" against peaceful demonstrations. He said that because the government and opposition differ on Mr. Assad's fate, the Syrian leader cannot be a part of a mutually agreed transitional government.
"There is no way, no way possible in the imagination that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern."
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told Kerry that only Syrians have the right to choose their president. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also reiterated his country's stance that other nations should not have a say in Syria's affairs.