President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Nasr al-Hariri, and Britain’s new special envoy to Syria, Jonathan Hargreaves, discussed the latest developments in Syria.
Coordinator of the SOC’s Department of Foreign Relations, Abdulahad Asteipho, the SOC’s representative to the United Kingdom, Bahia Mardini, and former British special envoy to Syria Martin Longden also took part in the online conversation.
The British diplomats offered their condolences to the SOC and the Syrian people on the death of Syria’s Ambassador to Qatar Nizar Al-Hiraki as they praised his efforts in the service of the revolution. Longden introduced the new envoy who assumed his duties recently.
Al-Hariri welcomed Mr. Hargraves as he commended the efforts of the former envoy and his role in supporting the Syrian people. He gave an overview on the latest round of talks by the Constitutional Committee and its results. He stressed the need for the United Kingdom and the international community to support political solution in Syria thorough the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and ratcheting up pressure on the regime and its backers to respect UN resolutions.
“During the previous rounds of the Geneva talks, the Assad regime has not shown any will to engage seriously in a real political process. The regime’s delegation avidly sought to create obstacles to any real progress in drafting a new constitution and discussing its provisions,” al-Hariri added.
Al-Hariri called on the United Kingdom to work with the international community to strip the regime of legitimacy, especially in the United Nations, in order to force it to comply with UN resolutions.
Moreover, al-Hariri talked about the situation in northwestern Syria, highlighting the extremely harsh living conditions that more than five million Syrians are going through. He also highlighted the immense suffering our people in the PYD-held areas east of the Euphrates are going through, stressing the need to liberate this region from the PYD militia and force the Qandil militia to return to where they came from.
Al-Hariri praised the support being provided by Turkey to the Syrian civilians in the liberated areas and to more than four million Syrian refugees living on its territory. He called on the rest of major actors in the international community to step up support to the Syrian people and the Syrian Interim Government so as to improve living conditions.
Furthermore, al-Hariri emphasized the need to step up political support for the revolution forces and for governance in the liberated areas so as to establish a safe environment for the population and enable the return of the displaced people to these areas.
Al-Hariri thanked the United Kingdom for its continuous support and efforts to support the just cause of the Syrian people. For their part, the British diplomats reaffirmed their country’s commitment to supporting the SOC and the Syrian people in their struggle to fulfill their aspirations for freedom, dignity and a democratic transition through the full implementation of UN resolution 2254. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
