Secretary-General of the Syrian Coalition Mohammed Yahya Maktabi said that the Supreme Negotiations Committee stressed the need for confidence-building measures to be taken by the Assad regime during a meeting with the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura held yesterday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. “These measures are contained in UN Security Council resolution 2254, and include ending the siege, allowing access of humanitarian aid, the release of detainees, and stopping the indiscriminate shelling of civilians before launching the negotiations scheduled to begin this month,” Maktabi said.
“The meeting with de Mistura tackled the situation on the ground in Syria, including the starving of civilians by the Assad regime in Rural Damascus where dozens died of hunger and cold; especially in the town of Madaya northwest of Damascus,” Maktabi added.
Member of the Syrian Coalition George Sabra described the recently adopted UN Security Council resolution 2254 as “biased” because it “ignores the aspirations of the Syrian people and therefore further complicates the conflict.”
Sabra said the Supreme Negotiations Committee highlighted the ambiguities within UN Security Council resolution 2254 during its meeting with de Mistura in Riyadh yesterday. “We stressed that while the Geneva Communique of 2012 says the goal of negotiations is forming a transitional governing body with full powers, UN Security Council resolution 2254 talks about paths or ways; one of which is forming a transitional governing body,” Sabra added.
“How can we achieve the political transition contained in resolution 2254 if Bashar al-Assad remained in his position?” Sabra said.
Sabra also said that “resolution 2254 gives the UN envoy the right to put the final touches on the opposition delegation. Why has Mr. de Mistura, or any other country or entity for that matter, been given the right to interfere in the formation of the opposition delegation? This is unacceptable to us.”
“A military solution will remain there unless there is a real political solution under the auspices of the United Nations and with international guarantees. The talk by the Assad and its allies about a political solution is not serious as any political solution would in effect mean the demise of the regime. This talk is rather aimed at gaining more time to try to divide the opposition and drive a wedge between it and its friends and allies.” (Source: Al-Riyadh Newspaper+ The New Arab Newspaper)
