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It's no surprise that the figurehead U.S.-backed moderate Syrian opposition would reject the Russian peace overtures. But note carefully that Syria wants to negotiate with the true moderate opposition, not the U.S. puppet group. I can see Russia engineering an agreement that includes replacing President Assad with another elected leader in a power-sharing arrangement with the opposition. And with Assad on the way out, there's no more "evil dictator" for the U.S. to villify.  

According to Bibi, Obama did not deliver the message he said he would the day before his meeting with Bibi. But with two liars involved in a secret conversation, who knows what was said?

Watch for Ukraine to break the cease-fire as soon as prisoners are exchanged and Ukraine's surrounded troops are freed. The U.S. does not take kindly to peace efforts where it is attempting to drum up war and Poroshenko will do as the U.S. State Department neocons tell him.

Actual policy or mere threat? The Palestinians seem serious about boycotting peace talks where the U.S. acts in the mediator role, in the wake of the illegal U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

"The text, obtained by Reuters, does not rule out Assad's participation in early presidential elections, something his enemies say is impossible if there is to be peace." Real reason: Assad would win re-election by a landslide, like he did the last time. That's why the U.S.-led opposition insists on Assad bowing out as a pre-condition to peace negotiations.

Brzezinski and other high former foreign relations officials publicly criticizing the Israeli position and calling for a hardened U.S. position that Israel must halt enlargement of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank before negotiations will resume to "clearly place the onus for the interruption where it belongs," whew! Times are definitely changing. 

We're years past the point where a two-state solution was possible, if it ever was. 

Abbas finally gets an endorsement from neighboring Arab states backing him on his refusal to recognize Israel as a "Jewish State," part of Netanyahu's negotiation demands. Such recognition would be tantamount to recognition of Israel's denial of the right of Palestinians driven from their homes in 1948 to return to them, a right ensured to them by the Geneva Convention on the rights of civilians in time of war.  

Lots more detail in the article. 

I won't bother posting links, but the meeting scheduled to begin negotiations today didn't happen because President Karzai broke off negotiations with the U.S. over bases and U.S. forces to remain after 2014 because the Taliban's new office established in Qatar flew the Taliban's flag which includes the phrase, "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," the formal name of the Taliban government before the U.S. invaded. And because a plaque on the office's wall outer wall read, "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." Karzai objects that this paints the picture of a government in exile. But that is precisely what the Taliban is. Would one expect the French government in exile during World War II not to fly the pre-war French flag? Karzai is a good little puppet and from time to time has thrown small tantrums in aid of painting himself as a non-puppet. But he usually changes his mind. But he has to watch himself; when the post-Saddam Iraq broke off similar negotiations, Obama took it as an invitation to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq. Karzai knows that he runs the same risk. But according to a Reuters report, the Taliban have removed the plaque and lowered their flag to ground level. Perhaps that will be enough concession for the U.S. to tell Karzai to go along with it. Karzai also says he is upset because the Taliban refused to meet with Karzai's negotiator in the first meetings. But the negotiations are supposedly aimed at bringing the Karzai government into the negotiations soon. Karzai's real problem is that he has no leverage worthy of mention. The U.S. is leaving. The Taliban will resume governing Afghanistan to the extent that nation is governed as a nation (historically, most of Afghanistan's "government" in the last century has been mostly multiple and geographically separate and sometimes combative warlords). I suspect that the best Karzai can hope for is amnesty or exile for himself and friends. Amnesty seems unlikely considering his collab

But Kerry, in Riyadh, said the goals of the U.S. and its allies hadn't changed: "a transition governance process, for a new constitution, for elections, and for a ceasefire." The key phrase is "a transition governance process." In other words, the U.S. still insists that Bashar al Assad, who polls show would win any election in Syria, must step down as head of government before a new constitution is adopted, and new elections are held." The Syrian opposition, funded and led by Saudi Arabia, has just vetoed participating in the peace process unless Assad agrees to step down as a negotiation pre-condition.  But Assad, Russia, and Iran are adamant that Assad will not step down unless first defeated in an election, in other words, the only transition will be made by elected officials, that the will of the Syrian people runs Syria, not invading mercenaries.