Umakhanov to Haidar: Geneva meeting should involve all representatives of opposition

شارك |

jouhina news,

Ilyas Umakhanov, Vice-Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, said the upcoming meeting on Syria in Geneva should necessarily involve the participation of all representatives of the “Syrian opposition”.

During a meeting with Ali Haidar, head of the delegation of the follow-up committee of the Syrian National Dialogue of Tehran conference visiting Moscow, Umakhanov said “without broad representation of all the Syrian forces, it would be difficult to settle the situation, therefore the meeting in Geneva should also include representatives of the Syrian internal opposition, otherwise it would not be that much meaningful.”

Haidar, who is Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs, stressed the need to create the conditions necessary to make this meeting a success.

He noted that the Syrian army is the only force capable of confronting and combating terrorism, adding that “what we need is international support which is important for us in this regard as well as in the issue of preserving Syria’s and its sovereignty as a state.”

The Syrian delegation in Moscow met on Monday with Mikhail Bogdanov, Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and Africa Affairs, Deputy Foreign Minister.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement the talks included exchanging points of view on the latest developments in Syria, adding that attention was given to accelerating the political solution to the crisis with focus on launching a process that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people.

Assessing the two inter-Syrian consultative meetings held previously in Moscow, the representatives of the political parties in Syria showed support to continue communication in Moscow, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Russia Today Website said that the delegation of the Syrian internal opposition, visiting Moscow recently, called for holding a third consultative meeting for the Syrian opposition in Moscow.

Moscow’s Third meeting has become a necessity due to the impossibility of resuming Geneva process in the current circumstances, the website quoted Minister Haidar as saying in a statement to Russian Sputnik News Agency.

For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that members of the Syrian delegation will hold talks on finding a solution to the crisis in Syria with Russian senior officials of the Council of Federation, State Duma and the Russian Mufti Council.

The international communication group on Syria, proposed by the UN special Envoy to Syria Staffan De Mistura, is expected to start its job next October, the web site also quoted Bogdanov as saying.

Bogdanov said “We see that holding this conference deserves our support, therefore we started practical steps in preparation of Geneva3,” asserting that the outcome of the meetings of the Syrian opposition should constitute a joint base for conducting negotiations with the Syrian Government in the framework of Geneva3 process.

Haidar: Ensuring objective circumstances for launching the political process and dialogue among the Syrians.

Haidar, who is heading the delegation of the Follow-up Committee of Tehran National Dialogue Conference, stressed the importance of concordance on the political solution to the crisis in Syria and ensuring objective circumstances for launching the political process and dialogue among the Syrians.

Following his talks with Bogdanov, Haidar told SANA Correspondent in Moscow that there is a concordance between the delegation and Russian diplomatic leadership that the political solution means searching for means of getting out of the crisis in Syria with the best view for its future, adding that such means and views should be done by Syrians,under a Syrian leadership and on the Syrian land.Haidar1

Haidar touched upon the role of the international community in solving the crisis in Syria, particularly the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan De Mistura’s program.

He criticized De Mistura’s latest statements as they tended to be non-neutral towards the crisis in Syria.

Haidar pointed out that his meeting with Bogdanov touched upon the role of the international community in solving the crisis in Syria, including De Mistura’s plan, expressing delegations’s satisfaction over the positive role played by Russia towards the issues of the Middle East, particularly the crisis in Syria.

Including more than 50 areas in Syria, the national reconciliation is a process that could be utilized for building a platform for launching an overall political process in Syria, Haidar elaborated.