President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Hadi Al-Bahra, addressed the International Diplomacy Forum held in Antalya, Türkiye, stating that global crises, including those in Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, and Gaza, have shifted the priority of the “Syrian conflict” among nations. Al-Bahra emphasized that despite these crises, the international community remains accountable for its obligations to the Syrian people, who rose against a regime that violated their human, constitutional, and political rights and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al-Bahra stressed the Syrian people’s right to pursue their aspirations for justice, freedom, and democracy, highlighting the necessity of taking effective steps and establishing a mandatory mechanism for the full and strict implementation of UN Resolution 2254 (2015). Al-Bahra warned against allowing the Assad regime to create further obstacles to a political solution.
Al-Bahra also cautioned about Syria’s vulnerability to Israeli strikes due to the regime’s alliance with Iran, which has brought the Iranian threat to Syria, empowered sectarian militias, and provided them with shelter and resources. He noted the strengthening of Iran’s regional influence through the utilization of terrorist militias from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. The convergence of regional and international crises, coupled with the direct military presence of global and regional powers in Syria, has complicated the path to a solution, necessitating high-level international and regional understandings.
Al-Bahra emphasized that any solution that disregards the Syrian people’s aspirations and sacrifices will not be sustainable, warning of further deterioration in Syria’s situation and increased suffering if international policies focus solely on crisis management rather than genuine engagement towards a political solution and the implementation of UN resolutions, notably Resolutions 2118 and 2254.
Al-Bahra, alongside the President of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, Badr Jamous, and Head of the Syrian Interim Government, Abdurrahman Mustafa, participated in the third Antalya Diplomacy Forum, convened under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The forum brought together foreign ministers, diplomats, business leaders, academics, think tanks, youth representatives, and media figures for comprehensive discussions on regional and global issues.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
