Painful concessions will be required from both sides if the Geneva conference is even to convene, let alone reach agreement on a cease-fire and transitional administration. It is encouraging that the US, following talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, seems prepared to accept a role for senior Assad regime members in any settlement, and that constructive proposals are starting to emerge from at least some opposition quarters.
如果日内瓦会议想要成功召开——更不用说达成停火和过渡性政府协议了——双方都必须做出痛苦的让步。令人鼓舞的是，在国务卿科里和俄罗斯外交部长拉夫罗夫举行会谈后，美国似乎准备好接受巴沙尔政府成员在解决方案中扮演重要角色；此外，至少一些反对派开始提出建设性的方案。