President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, Nasr Al-Hariri, held a virtual meeting with the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.
The meeting brought together SOC’s Vice-presidents Abdelhakim Bashar and Ruba Habboush, Coordinator of the SOC’s Department of Foreign Relations, Abdulahad Asteipho, members of the political committee Badr Jamous and Dima Moussa, and the SOC’s Representative to the United Nations.
Al-Hariri said that a few days ago we marked the fifth anniversary of the Russian military intervention in Syria which came to shore up the Assad regime after it was teetering on collapse, which led to the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions more. “However, the Assad regime got weaker as it much as its brutality and intransigence increased. The political process has been stalled for five years, while the humanitarian disaster is continuing.”
Al-Hariri talked about the results of the work of the Constitutional Committee, indicating that there were no tangible results despite the willingness of the Syrian Negotiations Commission and its serious engagement in the talks. He also said that the no agreement has so far been reached on the agenda of the next round due to the intransigence of the regime as well as the political and diplomatic protection and support it is receiving from Russia.”
Moreover, al-Hariri said that relative calm had prevailed in northwestern Syria following the signing of a ceasefire agreement last March between Turkey and Russia. “However, this agreement remains fragile due to the ongoing violations by the Assad regime and Iranian militias.”
Al-Hariri asked “how long Russia will continue to support the Assad regime and where Syria is going ten years after the start of the Syrian revolution and five years after the start of the Russian military intervention and the death of more than a million people, the displacement of millions of people, and the detention of hundreds of thousands, the majority of whom were killed under torture.”
Al-Hariri reaffirmed the SOC’s commitment to political solution and the implementation of the relevant UN resolutions, most importantly UN Resolution 2254. He called on Russia to clarify its vision for solution in Syria and the possibility of reaching a roadmap for the implementation of international resolutions.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the humanitarian situation in Syria cannot be reduced to the economic situation. He said: “The discussions here must be about the dire humanitarian situation that all Syrians are going through in all regions,” citing the suffering of detainees in the prisons of the Assad regime, and the suffering of those lacking sustained humanitarian access due to the limiting of the delivery of aid through one border crossing only.
Al-Hariri underscored that resolving all of Syria’s problems, including the lifting of the economic sanctions imposed on the regime, and the return of Syrian refugees depends on a political transition through the full implementation of UN Resolution 2254 and reaching a political solution paving the way for a safe, neutral and stable environment.
He also reaffirmed the SOC’s support for intra-Syrian dialogue provided that its outputs are useful and conducive to a political transition.
For his part, the Russian diplomat stressed that his country encourages everyone to seriously engage in the political and constitutional processes, pointing to his country’s intention to hold a conference on rebuilding and the return of refugees in Damascus next November. Al-Hariri responded by stressing that this conference would not be useful without creating a safe, transparent environment for holding elections under the supervision of the United Nations, ensuring the voluntary and safe return of refugees, and the full implementation of UN Resolution 2254 and the Geneva Communique of 2012. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
