The opposition delegation in the Syrian Constitutional Committee (SCC) hopes for the support of the Astana guarantors and Russia in particular to push forward the process of drafting a new Syrian constitution, Hadi Bahra, the co-chairman of the committee from the opposition side, told Sputnik in an interview
GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2019) The opposition delegation in the Syrian Constitutional Committee (SCC) hopes for the support of the Astana guarantors and Russia in particular to push forward the process of drafting a new Syrian constitution, Hadi Bahra, the co-chairman of the committee from the opposition side, told Sputnik in an interview.
"The SCC is established as a Syrian-led form of the intra-Syrian dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations and facilitated by the United Nations. So, we have to stick to this scenario, and, I think, even the guarantors themselves support this, they do not support any foreign body's interference in the process," Bahra said, when asked if he would accept any role from the Astana guarantor states � Russia, Turkey and Iran.
The co-chair noted that the support of the international community was also needed in pushing forward the process of drafting Syria's constitution.
"But, for sure, we will be meeting all sides, we will listen to their views, because we also need their support to push this process forward. As you know, without the support of these countries, the committee would have never been established. So, we need the continuous support, continuous involvement and pushing the work forward, but not interfering into our internal policies and decision-making," he continued.
Bahra underlined the need for collective effort in settling the Syrian crisis, noting that the approach to the issue should comprise both key international drivers of the world politics and regional powers.
"Russia is the main part of Security Council Resolution 2254. The Resolution was approved by Russia, so Russia and the United States are the main drivers of the international politics these days. But on the regional level you also have Russia, Turkey ... So, what we need is the collective effort ... We hope to reach a consensus between the Astana group, the Small Group on Syria and other countries on pushing forward the issue with the positive results for the Syrian crisis," Bahra said.
The 150-member Constitutional Committee with equal representation of the Syrian government, opposition and civil society is expected to be launched on Wednesday. The initial agreement to form the Constitutional Committee was reached during the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in January 2018 in the Russian city of Sochi. The committee will be mandated with drafting a new constitution for Syria.
