The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Office of Syrian Communities Abroad held a virtual meeting with leaders of the Syrian community in the United States. The two sides discussed the developments in the Caesar Act and the sanctions imposed on the Assad regime, in addition to the Syrian communities’ contribution to introducing the Syrian revolution and the demands of the Syrian people for freedom, dignity and democracy to decision-making circles and the peoples of the host countries.
The meeting brought together coordinator of the Communities Office Muhammad Yahya Maktabi, Secretary of the SOC’s political committee Abdul Majeed Barakat, and SOC’s members Firas Al-Masri and Ayman Al-Asimi.
Present were also leaders of the Syrian community in the US Muhammad Bakr Ghabis, Zaher Sahloul, Mirna Barq, Shadi Martini, Haitham Al-Bazm, Zaki Lababidi, George Astepho, Tariq Katila, Mahmoud Harmoush, and Qutaiba Idilbi.
The two sides discussed the sanctions imposed on the Assad regime under Caesar Act, and Caesar’s Group efforts to urge states to establish a unified sanctions mechanism that brings together the states that imposed sanctions on the regime.
They also stressed that the sanctions imposed on the Assad regime are not enough to put pressure on it, noting that the close economic relations between the regime and the PYD terrorist militia have contributed to weakening the impact of the sanctions.
Moreover, they discussed the media file and the possibility of establishing a channel of communication with US media agencies to write articles and conduct interviews shedding light on Syria. The discussions also touched on the issue of the cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid as they stressed the need for joint action to find an alternative mechanism for delivering aid to those in need instead of submitting to Russian blackmail in the UN Security Council.
The two sides reiterated the importance of cooperation and coordination to advance the political process forward and reach a political solution in accordance with UN resolutions, especially the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254.
(Source: SOC’s media department)
