Spokesman for the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Riad Nassan Agha said that the HNC meeting currently being held in Riyadh is aimed mainly at outlining a comprehensive vision for the transitional period in Syria. The meeting will also extensively study international positions towards the situation in Syria as well as prospects of a political solution.
Asked if the meeting will come up with a decisive final stance amid the diverse approaches and statements by some sides concerned with the Syrian issue, Agha said that the HNC is waiting for the appropriate conditions to define its position on the possibility of the resumption of negotiations. He added that the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has not yet set a date for the resumption of negotiations. The HNC, therefore, will not discuss this issue as it has not yet received a formal invitation from the UN envoy, Agha added.
The HNC’s General coordinator Riad Hijab, meanwhile, reiterated the HNC’s full commitment to a political solution during a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni in the Italian capital Rome on Monday.
Hijab stressed that “the most effective way to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people is through the immediate and unconditional implementation of the UN resolutions on Syria, particularly Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the UN Security Council resolution 2254 which call for lifting the sieges on Syrian cities and towns, allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, releasing all detainees, and stopping aerial and artillery bombardments and attacks against civilians and civilian objects. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Alsharq Alawsat)
