UN chief says constitutional committee created in Syria
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the creation of a constitutional committee on Syria that could pave the way for a political solution to the country’s eight-year conflict.
Guterres told reporters on Monday that the committee, which includes representatives from the government and opposition, would convene in the coming weeks. "It will be facilitated by the United Nations in Geneva."
"I firmly believe that the launching of a Syrian-organized and Syrian-led Constitutional Committee can be the beginning of a political path towards a solution," Guterres said.
The UN chief had already talked of an agreement concerning the "the composition of the committee."
Earlier on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem held a positive and constructive meeting with the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Damascus.
During the meeting, Muallem reiterated Syria’s adherence to the political process, and reaffirmed his country’s readiness to continue cooperation with the UN special envoy in order to reach a political solution through an intra-Syrian dialogue.
According to official news agency SANA, Syria’s top diplomat also stressed that Syria preserves the right to fight terrorism, and that counterterrorism operations will go on in parallel with the political process.
Damascus says the constitutional committee should be a purely Syrian affair to be decided by the Syrian people alone without any foreign interference.
In February, Pedersen said in Geneva that he saw a constitutional committee as “the potential door-opener for the political process.”
Last year, an agreement was made in the Russian town of Sochi for the formation of the UN-backed constitutional committee composed of 50 members from the incumbent Damascus government, 50 opposition members, and another 50 independent figures chosen by the UN.
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