President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Nasr Al-Hariri, received the Norwegian special envoy to Syria, Ms. Hilda Haraldstad to discuss the latest on the ground and political developments as well as the role of Norway in supporting the Syrian cause.
The meeting brought together SOC’s Vice-president Ruba Habboush, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Abdulahad Asteipho, members of the political committee Ahmed Al-Sayyed Youssef and Zuhair Mohammed, and First Secretary at the Norwegian Embassy Mr. Elnor Gasanov.
Al-Hariri stressed the need for an end to international inaction in Syria and the establishment of effective mechanisms for revitalizing the political process and bringing about political transition in Syria in accordance with the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN resolutions.
“We do not believe that political solution is implausible. However, the political process in general is now stalled,” Al-Hariri said, indicating that the SOC stands ready to continue its role in pushing the political process forward, although it is difficult without support from the international community.
Al-Hariri added that the Assad regime, Russia and Iran insist on pursuing their policies and standing against the aspirations of the Syrian people, stressing that the SOC is looking forward to a serious, active stance from Europe and the new US administration in Syria.
With regard to the humanitarian issues, Al-Hariri stressed the need for keeping the border crossings open and for sustained support for the Syrian people. He called for stepping up humanitarian support for the Syrian people and preventing Russia from continuing to keep the issue of humanitarian crossings a hostage.
Moreover, Al-Hariri reaffirmed the SOC’s commitment to the unity of Syria and its outright rejection of all plans or projects aimed at dividing the country. He stressed that the SOC is seeking to ensure the improvement of the living and security conditions for Syrians in the liberated areas.
Al-Hariri pointed out that the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) is avidly seeking to meet the basic needs of Syrian civilians in the liberated areas, adding that it is also working to detect the sleeper cells belonging to the Assad regime, ISIS and PYD. He made it clear that SIG needs real support from friendly states to implement the projects it is working on.
Moreover, he stressed that sanctions against the Assad regime are not sufficient as he stressed the need for confronting Russia’s attempts to rehabilitate the Assad regime. “We need work to work collectively to foil Russia’s attempts through the farcical elections and other forms of deception, as well as to prevent the rehabilitation of a regime that used chemical weapons against its own people and killed hundreds of thousands.”
For her part, the Norwegian envoy reaffirmed her country’s support for the Syrian people, especially in the humanitarian aspect. She also expressed her country’s readiness to provide support to IDPs in the liberated areas, adding that Norway will work at the UN Security Council to push for a political solution and the full implementation of UN resolution 2254 and for renewing a mandate for the cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
