President of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, Anas Abdah, held a press conference to inform the Syrian people about the current attempts to derail the political process away from its essence, which is to bring about a genuine political transition in the country.
Abdah called on all international organizations to provide urgent assistance to our people in the IDPs camps who are suffering severe weather conditions as a result of the snow storm that is hitting their tents. He also called for stepping up support for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, especially in the Lebanese town of Arsal. He thanked all Syrian organizations working to help those affected and provide then with basic necessities.
Abdah stressed that there is a real danger targeting the political process and its substance, namely political transition, adding that the Assad regime’s allies are seeking to dilute the political process and divert it from its goal.
Moreover, Abdah stressed that UN Security Council resolution 2254 is the roadmap for bringing about a genuine political transition in the country, adding that any process that does not seek this end has nothing to do with the Commission.
Moreover, Abdah criticized the total silence of the active countries in Syria and the United Nations about the recent Russian statements and its blatant interference in the affairs of Syria. He also criticized the lack of response by the UN envoy, Geir Pedersen, to the statements that were directly attributed to him.
He indicated that he met the UN envoy a few days ago in the Qatari capital, Doha, where Mr. Pedersen denied the statements denoting that the Syrian parties are not talking about regime change. He added that during the meeting with the UN envy, he demanded that the first item in the minutes of the meeting be confirmed by the Commission’s position: that it is committed to implementing UN resolution 2254 in its entirety and bringing about a political transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people.
Abdah also stressed that the United Nations should not to engage in any proposal that does not serve the political process and the implementation of UN resolution 2254, adding that there will be no political solution without a political transition.
Furthermore, Abdah renewed the Commission’s demand of discussing all the tracks included in UN resolution 2254 and not to reduce the resolution to the track of the Constitutional Committee. He wondered about the reasons that prevented the United Nations from doing so, demanding that the reasons be transparently explained to the Syrian people.
Abdah denounced the United Nations’ reluctance to open the rest of the tracks laid out in UN resolution 2254. He also denounced the proposing of new ill-defined approaches such as the “step-by-step” approach which risks diluting UN resolution 2254. He warned that such moves may lead to the legitimization of the Assad regime, calling on the United Nations to reconsider this approach.
Abdah also stressed the importance of persistence and commitment to the goals of the Syrian Revolution, pointing out that the revolution has its own territory, military power, governance and economy. He said that this “gives us the ability to insist on our demands in order to confront all attempts to derail the political process and the essence of UN resolutions on Syria.
“We reject partial solutions. The downfall of the regime is a historical inevitability. The responsibility is immense. We will continue to honor the pledge we made. We will not give up until the downfall of the Assad regime which destroyed Syria.”
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
