President of the Syrian Coalition Anas Alabdah said that political transition and the formation of a transitional government body must be at the heart of the political process and its primary goal. Alabdah stressed that the Syrian Coalition “supports every effort aimed at creating the appropriate environment for the resumption of the negotiating process in Geneva.”
In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV channel on Tuesday, Alabdah said that the Coalition “has supported every possibility to reach a political solution since the revolution began over five years ago. We are willing to discuss this issue very seriously in order to protect our people and to end the bloodshed.”
Alabdah ruled out the possibility of initiating a transitional process in Syria in August 1, the date set by the US Secretary of State John Kerry as the “target” date for forming a transitional governing body during the ISSG meeting held in Vienna on Tuesday. Alabdah stressed that while appropriate conditions for forming this body are completely lacking, Kerry was just trying to keep alive the hope that a genuine political transition in Syria can be achieved.
“We have not seen any progress in relation to the humanitarian files since UN Security Council resolution 2245 was passed more than two months ago. No blockade on the besieged areas has been lifted since the truce went into force nearly two months ago.”
Alabdah stressed that the humanitarian demands are not subject to negotiations. “We are not the party to the conflict that has been besieging civilians; detaining thousands of people; and dropping barrel bombs on civilians, nor do we have surface-to-surface missiles or warplanes that bomb civilians across Syria,” he added.
Alabdah pointed out that the international community and the UN have an ethical responsibility to protect civilians in Syria, stressing that there would be no feasible, meaningful political process unless progress was made in this regard. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
