Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and Special Presidential Representative on the Syrian Settlement Alexander Lavrentyev on Thursday discussed with leadership of the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission formation of Syria's future constitutional committee, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2019) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and Special Presidential Representative on the Syrian Settlement Alexander Lavrentyev on Thursday discussed with leadership of the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission formation of Syria's future constitutional committee, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"The parties discussed in detail the situation in and around Syria, the prospects for resolving the Syrian crisis in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and with strict respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. In this regard, special attention was paid to the need to promptly create the constitutional committee as an important step in promoting the political process conducted and carried out by Syrians themselves with the assistance from the United Nations," the statement said.
The constitutional committee will be charged with overhauling the Syrian constitution. The agreement to form the committee was reached during the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Russian city of Sochi in January 2018. The panel is expected to be made up of representatives of the government and opposition, Syrian experts, members of civil society, independents, tribal leaders, and women, according to the statement from the congress. Russia, Turkey and Iran have been key foreign players in organizing the committee.
The Syrian government and the opposition each submitted a roster of members in September 2018, but a dispute over UN-proposed independent candidates prevented the panel from being convened by the end of the previous year.
