Russia will discuss with the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General Geir Pedersen the sixth session of the Constitutional Committee during the meeting on Syria in Nur-Sultan, Alexander Lavrentyev, the Russian President's Special Representative for Syria, told reporters on Wednesday.
"We will talk carefully about the continuation of the work of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva. As you know, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General Pedersen has arrived here. We will continue to discuss with him this issue and the need for a sixth session of the Constitutional Committee," he said.
According to Lavrentyev, there are all the prerequisites for its organization.
He also explained that the delegations, which arrived in Nur-Sultan, are considering many topical issues in view of the presidential elections held in Syria. "Of course, we are very concerned about the situation on the ground, especially in the Idlib de-escalation zone. We will definitely discuss the important issue of establishing a constructive dialogue between Syrian democratic forces and Damascus," the diplomat said. - "Of course, the unfavourable situation that is still taking shape in the region of al-Tanf is worthy of attention, there is still a fairly large number of militants there who are destabilising the situation in the south, south-east and south-west of Syria".
The international meeting will be held on July 7-8 with delegations from guarantor countries (Iran, Russia and Turkey), the Syrian government and the Syrian armed opposition. Representatives of the UN, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq will be present as observers. Negotiators will discuss the situation in Syria, international humanitarian aid to the country, prospects for resuming the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, as well as confidence-building measures, including prisoner exchange, hostage release and search for missing persons.
Cross-border assistance
Russia insists that the cross-border assistance mechanism in Syria should not be prolonged; the mechanism has outlived its usefulness, Lavrentyev said.
"We, of course, insist that this mechanism be phased out. Not to prolong the activity of the cross-border mechanism," he said.
According to Lavrentyev, this issue is quite acute, primarily because of the position of the Western community, which supports the continuation of the mechanism.
He recalled that this temporary measure was adopted back in 2014, when the Syrian government did not control the border crossings and most of the borders with neighboring states. "At the moment, it seems to us, it is an anachronism, the mechanism has outlived its usefulness. It is necessary, of course, to respect international humanitarian law and to establish the normal functioning of the mechanism through the legitimate authorities, through Damascus," said the special presidential representative.
"There are all the conditions for this," he added. According to Lavrentyev, "humanitarian aid is delivered quite effectively through the lines of contact <...> primarily to the areas of northeastern Syria," which is proved by "the practice of the last six to eight months."
As for Idlib province, he continued, the issue is rather highly politicized, since the Bab al-Hawa crossing remained in operation. "But the convoy that was formed and is currently near Damascus has been idle for a year. The fighters do not allow the convoy to be delivered to the civilian population that lives in that area of Syria," the diplomat pointed out.
Aid mechanism
In July 2020, the UN Security Council passed a resolution extending the cross-border assistance mechanism for Syria that had been in place since 2014. Initially, supplies were delivered through four checkpoints - Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa (on the border with Turkey), al-Yarubiya (on the border with Iraq) and Ramta (on the border with Jordan). Moscow and Damascus have insisted that this mechanism be phased out because more and more Syrian areas are returning to government control and aid can be delivered from inside the country in coordination with the authorities, as prescribed by international humanitarian law.
In January 2020, when extending the mechanism, the Security Council left only two checkpoints on the border with Turkey in the resolution. In July of that year, Russia and China vetoed a proposal to extend aid through two checkpoints, after which the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to extend operations only through Bab al-Hawa for a year.
The fate of the cross-border assistance mechanism will be decided soon. The mandate for Bab al-Hawa operations expires July 10. Since that date falls on a Saturday when the UNSC does not meet, a vote on the final draft resolution - or several drafts - will take place no later than July 9.
Western position
Russia expects the collective West to adjust its position on Syria in favor of more humanitarian and socio-economic assistance to the country, Lavrentyev said.
"We hope that the so-called collective West will decide to adjust its position on Syria in favor of a greater humanitarian component, a socio-economic focus," he said.
Lavrentyev noted that Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden instructed experts after the summit in Geneva to hold consultations on topical issues, including Syria. "The last summit of the two presidents in Geneva was quite constructive and encouraging," he stressed.
Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden held talks in Geneva on June 16. It was their first face-to-face meeting as heads of state, as well as the first US-Russian summit since 2018.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Sergey Bobylev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS