Member of the Syrian Coalition’s political committee Yasser Farhan accused Russia of failing to fulfill its promises in Syria, stressing that Russia bears responsibility for the ongoing crimes against the Syrian people.
Moscow pledged to halt its aerial campaign on the liberated areas during a meeting with representatives of the FSA groups in Astana last week, Farhan said. However, Russia has not honored its pledges.
Local activists said that they have recorded dozens of air raids by the Russian forces on the provinces of Idlib, Dara’a, and Rural Damascus over the past week. The most violent airstrikes hit Dara’a province where the Syrian interim government announced that the Russian bombings put all hospitals in the liberated areas out of service.
Farhan, who was a member of the opposition’s technical delegation during the latest meeting in Astana, said that Russia has so far failed to achieve any progress in the issue of detainees in the prisons of the Assad regime.
“We demanded the release of all detainees in Syria in accordance with international resolutions to achieve justice, not through prisoners swap deals with the Assad regime,” Farhan said.
The opposition’s delegation refused to discuss Russian suggestions for mechanisms to consolidate the cease-fire and demanded that discussions must focus on the paper submitted by the opposition, Farhan added.
Representatives of the FSA and rebel groups submitted suggestions to shore up the ceasefire agreement during the first meeting in Astana. The suggestions were drafted by legal experts and rebel military officers.
Farhan pointed out that the opposition’s delegation did not discuss any political issues during the Astana meetings, adding that they refused to discuss Russia’s suggestions for a new constitution. The delegation also stressed that Iran cannot play the role of a guarantor of any agreement as the militias it sends to Syria continue to commit the most heinous war crimes against the Syrian people. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
