Official spokesman for the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Riad Nassan Agha called upon the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to raise the issue of Russia’s actions in Syria during its upcoming meeting on Tuesday. Agha said Russia’s actions in Syria stand in sharp contrast to what it says, adding that Moscow is seeking to help Assad achieve big military gains before the new round of negotiations.
The ISSG is due to convene in the Austrian capital Vienna on Tuesday, with expectations that this meeting will likely determine the issue of the fourth round of the Geneva negotiations.
In an interview with Alsharq Alawsat newspaper on Sunday, Agha said that the international players active in the Syrian file are well aware that failing to giving a push for the political process means flooding the region with more blood for years to come.
Agha pointed out that the political process is facing big obstacles, most notably the fact that determining the future of Syria has been delegated by the United States to Russia. He said that although they bear the brunt of the conflict in Syria, the European Union and friends of Syria feel like they have been excluded from discussions on Syria.
In a statement issued on May 10 following a meeting with the Friends of the Syrian People Group in Paris, General Coordinator of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Riad Hijab said that for the political process to continue, it is essential to immediately and unconditionally implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Syria.
Hijab stressed that negotiations cannot be resumed without “ending violence, ending the suffering of the Syrian people, lifting the sieges, delivering aid to those in need, releasing detainees, and stopping executions and other arbitrary measures practiced against civilians by the Assad regime.”
Hijab underscored the importance of “adopting a new strategy by the United Nations to push the peace process forward through employing a more robust policy to address the violations perpetrated by the Assad regime and its allies.” (Source: Syrian Coalition + Alsharq Alawsat)
