Member of the Syrian National Coalition, Hisham Marwa, said that the Assad regime’s participation in the negotiations on the drafting of a new constitution in Geneva last week came under pressure from international powers, including Russia, Assad’s main ally.
In an interview with the Saudi newspaper Okaz on Thursday, Marwa pointed out that the international pressure on the regime reinforced the position of the Syrian Negotiations Commission. He also said that the goal of the political process is the implementation of UN resolution 2254 and the establishment of a non-sectarian political system that is chosen by the Syrian people freely and without any restrictions.
Marwa said that the Drafting Body is a gateway to the implementation of UN Resolution 2254, which calls for a political solution. The resolution contains four paragraphs, including the transitional governance. According to the resolution, the Constitutional Committee will draw up a draft constitution and put it to a referendum then hold elections.
The position of the political opposition remains strong in accordance with the international resolutions on Syria, Marwa added. He said that the Assad regime will not abide by these resolutions unless it is forced to do so under international pressure, including from Russia, which means that the opposition is negotiating with the regime from a position of strength.
Marwa said that the slight breakthrough which was made in the first meeting of the Constitutional Committee raised the hopes for reaching an agreement on the basic provisions of the new constitution although the first round of negotiations saw reluctance by the regime to seriously engage in many issues related to the constitution. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
