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JEDDAH: The Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said on Thursday it is ready to back a Russian-brokered constitutional reform initiative for Syria, so long as it is led by the UN.
Yahya Al-Aridi, opposition spokesman, told Arab News: “Russia can’t be trusted. We had a horrible experience with Russia in Astana. Promises were given and broken. But Russia cannot run away from UN Security Council resolutions, however it tries. These resolutions need to be implemented. And there is international legality that Russia should abide by.”
Nasr Al-Hariri, who heads the committee that represents the Syrian opposition in UN talks with the regime, said any constitutional committee must be formed at the UN, and include representation from his group.
Al-Aridi said the issue of representation should be entrusted in the hands of Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, “who is supervised by UN resolutions, in addition to the participation of the parties concerned and mentioned in UN Resolution 2254.”
Al-Hariri 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 regime.
Syrian state media, a mouthpiece of President Bashar Assad, said the regime will have two-thirds of the representation on the committee.
Al-Aridi said: “The regime doesn’t want two-thirds. Even if it were to be given the whole representation, it is not ready to get into this.” But, said Al-Aridi, the power of the UN Security Council would ensure the regime complies.
Al-Hariri said the HNC would not accept having a committee appointed at Sochi.
Al-Aridi said the opposition had no doubt that “the regime would continue to play games and to try as hard as it can to detach itself from the political process.”
However, when it was in the hands of the UN and its special envoy, there were certain guarantees, he said. “The UN envoy has, as we understand, got the consent of the Russians who came out of the negotiations in Vienna and Sochi.”
Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian adviser said a humanitarian task force has been unable to make deliveries to desperate Syrians for the past two months as the Assad regime has withheld approval for UN aid convoys.
Before they can move into besieged areas or across front lines, the convoys require letters from the regime and security guarantees from armed groups.
“It’s an all-time low in giving us the facilitation letters,” adviser Jan Egeland told reporters after meeting senior diplomats in Geneva.
Insurgents fighting Assad’s forces were also creating obstacles, contributing to the worst situation since 2015, he said.
Egeland called on Russia, Turkey and Iran to de-escalate the fighting in Idlib governorate, which he said was “screaming for a cease-fire.”
In another development, Syria has complained to the UN about the Turkish offensive on a Kurdish enclave in its northwestern region, calling it a “blatant aggression” and a violation of the international organization’s charter.
In a letter to the UN published on Thursday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said any foreign troops’ presence on its land without its approval is “an aggression and an occupation that will be treated accordingly.” It didn’t elaborate.
Turkey, together with Syrian allied fighters, launched the assault on Afrin on Jan. 20, stating it aims to drive the Kurdish militia in charge there away from its borders. Afrin is not under government control, but is led by a Kurdish militia that Turkey accuses of terrorism.