Syria’s main Western-backed opposition group is set to vote today on whether to attend next week’s peace talks in Geneva. Speaking on the eve of the decision, Secretary of State John Kerry sought to assure the opposition President Bashar al-Assad would not be part of a transitional government.

John Kerry: “Any names put forward for leadership of Syria’s transition must, according to the terms of Geneva I and every one of the reiterations of that being the heart and soul of Geneva II — those names must be agreed to by both the opposition and the regime.”