Vice-president of the Syrian Coalition Abdul Ahad Steifo stressed the need to abide by the timetable set out by international resolutions on the achievement of political transition in Syria.
Steifo, who is also a member of the delegation of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to the Geneva talks, referred to a lack of commitment to a specific timetable for negotiations during the previous round of negotiations in Geneva.
Paragraph 4 of the UN Security Council resolution 2254 stated that negotiations should begin in January 1, 2016 and end after six months. The negotiations were to be followed by an 18-month long transitional period but that was not the case, Steifo said.
Steifo pointed out that the credibility of international community will be at stake if it allows a repetition of what happened during the Geneva 3 talks. For the Syrian people, time is blood, he stressed.
The opposition will continue to press for the enforcement of international resolutions calling for the start of political transition, adding that the agenda of Geneva 4 must focus on bringing about political transition to ensure building a free, stable state based on the values of justice and the rule of law.
The HNC delegation will remain in Geneva to discuss the political transition process despite ongoing attempts by the Assad regime to derail negotiations, Steifo added. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)