Syrian opposition OKs initiative, with caveat

AP
Nasr al-Hariri, Head of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC), attends a news conference before the opening of Intra Syria talks in Geneva, Switzerland November 27, 2017. (REUTERS)

ANKARA: The Syrian opposition’s Higher Negotiations Committee says it is ready to back a Russian-brokered constitutional reform initiative for Syria, so long as it’s lead by the United Nations.
Nasr Al-Hariri, who heads the committee that represents the Syrian opposition in UN talks with the government in Geneva, says any constitutional committee must be formed at the UN, and include representation from his group.
He spoke in Istanbul at a press conference on Thursday, two days after Russia convened its Syria Congress for National Dialogue in Sochi. The HNC boycotted the Congress, saying it would not lead to peace. Russia is a key ally of the Syrian government.
Deciding the committee’s makeup could doom the initiative before it even takes wing. Syrian state media, a government mouthpiece, says Damascus will have two-thirds of the representation on the committee.
Hariri said the HNC would not accept having a committee appointed at Sochi.