Proposed Transitional Gov't Designed to Collapse Syria - US State Senator

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Thursday, the Syrian opposition’s Moscow platform put forward a proposed transitional government arrangement to appoint five vice presidents as deputies under President Bashar Assad. The proposal allegedly received a positive response from UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, though it was opposed by the High Negotiations Committee, the main ppposition delegation backed by Saudi Arabia.

"There has never been a government run by five vice presidents and there never will be," Black said on Friday. "The proposal is foolish, it’s deceitful, and it is designed to collapse the Syrian government."

Black, who recently met with President Assad during a visit to Syria, explained that under the proposal, "Two of those [vice presidents] would be terrorists, two would be government officials, and one would be some nebulous undefined individual that presumably the terrorists would try to control or to threaten."

The division of power would leave the Syrian government "in total chaos," Black asserted, adding that "clearly this is their objective."

Under the proposed transition, Assad would be a "figurehead," divested of power, leaving the Syrian Army without leadership and the Syrian people "defenseless," Black argued.

The individuals brought to power under the auspices of the transition, would enter with relative "dictatorial powers" and "no mandate from the people," he added.

Though Assad is not recognized by numerous foreign governments, he maintains control over the majority of Syrian territory with a greater margin of popular support than any of the largely foreign-backed opposition groups.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey both have a stake in choosing representation for a Syrian transitional government comprised of five vice presidents, Richard Black told Sputnik.

"Somehow Saudi Arabia and Turkey are going to come along and say, ‘We are going to select two vice presidents for Syria,’ and put them in charge," Black said of two of the five deputies proposed for a Syrian transitional government. "And you know they are going to be put in place by the Turks and the Saudis."

Black explained that both Saudi Arabia and Turkey "want to have two out of the five vice presidencies," meaning that the Syrian people "are cut out of this whole process."

Black went on to describe the Saudi and Turkish-backed elements in Syria as "terrorist," and responsible for the recent massacre of Syrian civilians "under the guise of the ceasefire."

Prior to speaking with Sputnik, Black discussed the proposal this week with a high-level Syrian official and maintains contact with individuals from the Assad government.