Russia has every reason to believe that the upcoming sixth meeting of the drafting commission of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will record progress in the political settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"We are making active efforts with our partners in the Astana format to ensure that the next sixth meeting of the drafting commission of the Syrian Constitutional Committee is productive," he said. - "There is every reason to believe that progress will be recorded and the constitutional council will be able to organize direct contacts between the key delegations".
The minister pointed out that the various groups that participate in the committee are already exchanging written considerations in the preparation phase. "This will create conditions for more productive discussions than in previous rounds," Lavrov noted.
Timing of the meeting
The Russian Foreign Minister said he hoped that UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen would soon announce the dates of the meeting and that it would be held in late March or early April, before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Russia is waiting for UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen to conceptualize his initiative on a new expanded format for a Syrian settlement, Lavrov said.
"The proposal to expand the composition was voiced by Pedersen before, he suggested bringing together the participants of the Astana format and the small group on Syria (Britain, Germany, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United States, France)," he said. - "In any format, we are ready to look for ways of external conditions so that Syrians could determine their own fate, but apart from generalities, if Pedersen is going to promote his approach seriously, he needs to put it conceptually on paper".
The minister noted that he does not know on what basis Pedersen plans to try the new format, recalling that the Astana format is committed to UN Security Council Resolution 2254, according to which the Syrians themselves must determine the fate of their country, intervention attempts and attempts to threaten the territorial integrity of Syria must be suppressed. "We are guided by these principles, about the small group I do not have information, but judging by their actions, these principles are not good for them, so Pedersen should decide on the basis of the new format. The only one that clearly reproduces the commitment to resolution 2254 will work for us," Lavrov added.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS