A day after Syria’s Western-backed opposition agreed to join peace talks, rebels on the ground reportedly say they, too, are ready to attend.<br /><br />But the politicians and the rebels have set conditions for taking part.<br /><br />One key demand before going to a proposed peace conference in Geneva is a firm assurance over the departure of Bashar al-Assad.<br /><br />Syria’s president, however, has given no sign that he is ready to step down.<br /><br />The US and the opposition’s other Western backers hope any talks will produce an interim administration as a way out of the civil war.<br /><br />But after months of gains on the battlefield, Assad’s government has repeatedly said it won’t show up simply to surrender power.<br /><br />With fighting still raging, the opposition has also demanded the freeing of prisoners and the opening of humanitarian corridors so that aid can reach civilians trapped by two and a half years of conflict.
