The International Syria Support Group is convening today in New York to discuss ending the conflict in Syria. Later on Friday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council which is expected to adopt a resolution supporting the Vienna consultations. The proposed resolution is reportedly backed by Russia.
In its first meeting on Thursday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the opposition’s Supreme Negotiations Committee elected Riyad Hijab as General Coordinator. Yahya Qadamani was elected as deputy coordinator, Safwan Akash a secretary, and Riyad Nassan Agha as the committee’s official spokesman.
The Syrian Coalition’s Secretary-General Mohammed Yahya Maktabi called upon the nations meeting in New York to help Syrians find a just political solution that puts an end to the daily killings and achieves the Syrians’ aspirations for freedom and dignity.
Maktabi stressed that any political solution that does not guarantee the departure of Assad will play into the hands of extremist organizations and feeds into their propaganda.
“I want to remind you that Assad’s ongoing crimes in Syria for nearly five years using barrel bombs and chemical weapons and the detention of tens of thousands of civilians were all committed before ISIS and other terrorist organizations existed,” Maktabi said. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
