AhlulBayt News Agency
- Syria’s chief negotiator says the Damascus delegation to the
UN-brokered talks has proposed “constitutional amendments” to a peace
initiative put forward by the UN mediator.Follwowing two meetings with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva on Monday, Bashar al-Ja’afari, also the Syrian ambassador to the UN, said discussions between the two sides were “rich in ideas,” and that the they agreed to continue their talks on Tuesday.
“Today we submitted constitutional amendments to the paper submitted to us by the special envoy and we consider such amendments to be an integral part of this paper,” Ja’afari said.
This came as the so-called opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) leaders left the ongoing peace talks last week. Only a few of its representatives are still in Geneva, Switzerland, for informal technical sessions with the UN team.
However, de Mistura said on April 22 that he would continue the talks probably until Wednesday despite the departure of the Saudi-backed group, which called for renewed attacks on the battlefield against the Syria army.
Ja’afari further said the threats made by certain members of the Saudi-backed opposition before leaving the talks, later translated into the deadly terror attacks that recently hit Aleppo Province and the suburbs of the capital, Damascus.
“The main aim of uttering such statements was the failure of the Syrian-Syrian dialogue and [subjecting the country] to more foreign intervention and carrying out the orders of the masters of the Saudi group to escalate situation,” Ja’afari said.The government has repeatedly said that the future of President Bashar al-Assad was not up for discussions in Geneva and that political transition should come in the shape of a national unity government that includes current officials, opposition and independent figures.
The opposition, however, has rejected any proposal that keeps President Assad in office.
A ceasefire, brokered by Russia and the US, went into effect on February 27 across Syria, but the fighting that picked up after the HNC withdrawal from the peace talks left the truce in tatters.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Damascus says Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar are the main supporters of the militants fighting the government forces.
According to de Mistura, some 400,000 people have lost their lives as a result of over five years of conflict in Syria.THE REUTERS
"In
order to come to terms over six months it is necessary not to slam the
door and dig in heels, as several delegates of the so-called Riyadh
group have done," Lavrov said on Monday, speaking on the progress made
through the Syrian peace talks.
The ceasefire agreed on February 27 has largely held and includes 71
settlements. While there have been occasional instances of fighting,
many of these can be attributed to terrorist groups like ISIS, which are
outlawed and not part of the deal.
Still, as negotiations continue, Lavrov added that "it’s no secret"
that Turkey has a "decisive influence" on the opposition group High
Negotiations Committee.
"So one should not come for talks with ultimatums but should sit down
at the negotiating table and reach an agreement," he said.
The foreign minister added that the Russian government is working to
compile a more thorough list of the terrorist groups operating within
Syria.
"We are currently collecting information that Jabhat al-Nusra groups
that seemed to have declared truce and readiness to join [the]
ceasefire," he said.
"We will summarize facts and present them to [the] UN Security Council to adjust terrorist lists."
The United Nations Security Council is negotiating a new Syrian
constitution which will help bring an end to the five-year conflict that
has left nearly 250,000 people dead and millions displaced.
- See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1812085#sthash.rBWXL7CE.dpuf
As
peace talks continue between the Syrian government and the High
Negotiations Committee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has
warned of Turkey’s "decisive influence" on the opposition council.
- See more at:
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1812085#sthash.rBWXL7CE.dpuf
As
peace talks continue between the Syrian government and the High
Negotiations Committee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has
warned of Turkey’s "decisive influence" on the opposition council.
- See more at:
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1812085#sthash.rBWXL7CE.dpuf
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