WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2021) Members of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) are still waiting to meet with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen, SDC Representative in the United States and member of the Presidential Committee, Bassam Saker, told Sputnik.
"I'm sorry to say it... no, we haven't had any," Saker said when asked if the SDC had a meeting with Pedersen, who has served as UN special envoy to Syria since October of 2018. "We are out of this peace process, which is not good."
In January, the Syrian Constitutional Committee (SCC) held talks in Geneva, which Pedersen called "disappointing" because nothing was achieved on the diplomat's agenda. The SCC is a 150-member body with equal representation from Damascus, the opposition and civil society.
"The United Nations should consider us as part of a solution and we... should be part of the negotiating team in Geneva. We are controlling one third of the country. We have many people, and we are not represented at this Constitution Committee. It's not fair," Saker said.
Saker said "without us, there will never be a solution for Syria, because we are one of the opposition and we are the people who defeated the ISIS [Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia]."
Saker said the SDC, which is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has also not had any contacts with Damascus.
"They don't want to negotiate or to talk to us and they don't want to go for any negotiating or for any talks for the future of Syria," he said. "They want it as it was before 2011, they don't want any change."
Saker believes, however, that there should be contacts between the Kurds and Damascus.
"I believe it should be, because it is normal to have talks. We are now not part of the political solution," he said. "We are ready to talk with everybody, not only with Damascus, with Turkey, with anybody who is participating in the solution for the future of Syria."
Commenting on the cooperation with Russia, Saker called it positive.
"But because of the pandemic, we don't have any official meetings or any meetings with Russia," he said.
He noted that there haven't been any contacts with Russia for more than six months.
