MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2021) Doha would like to see a specific time frame for drafting a new Syrian constitution to prepare the ground for the second stage of the conflict resolution in the country, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.
"HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani [Qatari Foreign Minister] stressed the need for setting a specific date for completing the drafting of a new Syrian constitution, in order to pave the way for the transition to the second phase, which includes holding elections in accordance with the new constitution," the ministry said in a statement after a meeting on Syria, held in Rome on Monday.
The top Qatari diplomat stressed that it was vital to reduce the intensity of hostilities in Syria, achieve a permanent ceasefire, and fight terrorism, in addition to humanitarian aid shipments to all areas of the country, to reach a peaceful solution "that ends the suffering of the Syrian people."
Al-Thani outlined the need to create the necessary conditions for the delivery of all types of aid across the country, in line with UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2533 on border crossing.
The war in Syria, which erupted as part of the wave of Arab Spring protests, has been ongoing for a decade now. What started as protests demanding reforms later turned into a full-scale war between the government and opposition armed groups, as well as the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia). Numerous international forces have also taken sides in the conflict by aligning with one group or another.
In an effort to settle the conflict, Russia, Turkey, and Iran launched the so-called Astana talks in 2017, so that the government and opposition could negotiate a peaceful solution. Another international format is the UN-brokered talks of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva. The 150-member body, with equal representation of the government, opposition, and civil society, was launched on October 30, 2019, to work toward drafting a new constitution.
