Louay Safi, spokesman for the Syrian Coalition, criticized the insistence of Russia on expanding the delegation of the opposition that was formed by the Syrian Coalition. “The delegation which needs to be replaced is Assad’s delegation for not complying with the terms of negotiation in the first and second rounds,” Safi said. He also said that “if Russia really wants fruitful negotiations at Geneva II, they have to put pressure on the regime to change the negotiating delegation who lack the flexibility necessary to save the Syrian people. The international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi clearly blames Assad’s delegation for stalling the Geneva II negotiations.” Furthermore, Safi said that the Russian statements are “nothing more than an attempt to justify the regime’s lack of commitment to the terms of Geneva I and their refusal to discuss the mechanism set forth by the Geneva I Communiqué and UN Security Council Resolution No. 2118 for implementing the six points which include the cessation of violence, the immediate release of detainees, lifting the siege on cities and ensuring freedom of movement, speech and demonstration.” Safi points out that Russia, whose position is identical to the Assad regime’s, does not have the right to intervene in the formation of the opposition delegation, which should represent all spectrums of the Syrian people.” When asked about the demands of Qadri Jamil, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Assad regime, to join the Geneva negotiations under the pretext of representing the internal opposition, Safi said that “such claims indicate a lack of political awareness as dissent cannot be self-proclaimed, but is linked to dissidents’ positions within the political movement. Safi stresses that Russia’s calls for expanding the opposition delegation to Geneva II aims to destabilize the unity of the delegation of the Syrian Coalition, who have proven their ability and political flexibility at Geneva II, and formed one of the biggest political obstacles in the face of uncertainty and prevarication shown by Assad’s delegation.” Moreover, Safi disputes claims made by Russia that progress was made at Geneva II on the humanitarian situation is still the same, stressing that the Assad regime used the humanitarian crisis as a political card to put pressure on the opposition at Geneva II. Safi said that the Assad regime has been seeking to displace the people of Syrian cities in an effort to change the demographics in some areas, thus violating human rights conventions. He also warned of the regime’s attempts to sign a truce with opposition forces in some areas “to use it as an interim step in order to regroup his forces and deploy them to other areas within the country. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
