President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, held a virtual meeting with Germany’s special envoy to Syria, Mr. Robert Rohde and discussed with him the latest field and political developments, especially the brutal escalation by the Assad regime and its allies in Dara’a and the northwest.
The meeting brought together SOC’s Vice-president Abdulahad Asteipho, SOC’s Secretary General Haitham Rahma, SOC’s Member Dima Moussa and SOC’s Representative to Germany Fadel Afa Al-Rifai.
On the other end of the line were Head of Syria and Lebanon Team Ms. Serap Ocak, First Secretary at the German Embassy in Ankara Thomas Ulbrich, and member of the Syria Team at the German Foreign Ministry Ruben Schwarz.
Al-Meslet talked about the daily crimes that the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian backers are committing against the Syrian people. He stressed that the ongoing escalation in Idlib province for more than two months has left a lot of destruction and caused awful tragedies, which risks displacing more people. He indicated that a large part of the responsibility rests with the international community which hardly moves a finger about what is happening in Syria. He expressed his hope that Germany would play an active role in pushing for a more committed stance by the international community, and that Germany would continue to stand by the Syrian people in their quest for freedom, dignity and democracy.
Al-Meslet also talked about the political process and the need to activate all the tracks of the process, especially the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers. He also talked about the Assad regime and Russia’s obstruction of the work of the Constitutional Committee, their creation of obstacles in each round, and their derailing of the process with the aim of emptying it of substance, disrupting the efforts and wasting time.
Moreover, Al-Meslet stressed the need to support the international efforts to hold Assad and his regime’s criminals accountable, in addition to implementing international resolutions on Syria issue, most notably the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254. He also stressed that everyone has a responsibility for implementing these resolutions.
For his part, the German envoy reiterated his country’s support for the demands of the Syrian people and for the SOC in the political process.
Mr. Rohde pointed out that UN Resolution 2254 is still the framework for all political efforts and is the only way to a solution in Syria.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
