Austrian president says regime transition in Syria not to happen in weeks

Austrian president Heinz Fischer said here on Wednesday that regime transition in Syria could not take place in weeks.

Speaking to the Austrian Press Agency following a meeting with the King of Jordan Abdullah II in Vienna, Fischer said the ongoing peace process would not raise hopes that "it is only a question of a few weeks."

His remarks came one day after U.S. secretary of state John Kerry had told media in Paris that a "big transition" could indeed be mere weeks away.

On Saturday, Russia, the United States and countries from Europe and the Middle East agreed in Vienna on a political process that includes a ceasefire and talks between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces.

According to a joint statement released by the United Nations, the talks between different sides in Syria should establish "credible, inclusive and nonsectarian" transitional government that would set a schedule for drafting a new constitution in six months, then a UN-supervised election would be held within 18 months.

But the participants of the talks failed to bridge gaps over the role and future of Assad.

On Sunday, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the Syrian government has to study the outcome of the Vienna talks before giving a stance.

"It's early to comment on the details as this is a political matter that concerns the country, and the Syrian people," al-Zoubi said.

The Syrian government has always believed in the political solution to end the Syrian crisis, but it should respect the national sovereignty of Syria, particularly the option to decide the nature of Syria's political system and the country's leadership, the minister added. Endi