Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Mouallimi accused the Assad regime of not showing any seriousness in the UN-led peace negotiations in response to remarks made by Bashar al-Jaafari, the Assad regime’s UN representative.
“We are not surprised by this type of procrastination on the part of the Assad regime,” Mouallimi said in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV channel on Saturday. “Assad regime still refuses to engage in the substance of the UN-led talks, namely the issues of the constitution, the transfer of powers, the shape of the new government, and the shape of the new Syrian state that should emerge from the rubble and wreckage of the war-torn country.”
Mouallimi stressed that the Assad regime did not engage seriously in the peace negotiations as it continued to procrastinate and sought to sideline the most vital issues that should be negotiated. He noted that the Assad regime proved unwilling to enter into any serious negotiations with the delegation of the Syrian Negotiations Commission.
Mouallimi added: “The Syrian opposition is now speaking with one voice. The opposition delegation came to New York, Washington and Geneva, and their overall performance was flawless because they speak rationally and clearly in terms of the discourse and negotiations.”
Mouallimi said that the United Nations and some countries are providing assistance, noting that “Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of the countries providing assistance to the Syrian people, but unfortunately the response is still limited.”
Mouallimi has accused the Assad regime and its Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah allies of bombing and destroying Syrian cities.
The Saudi official’s remarks came a few hours after the Syrian Negotiations Commission officially announced it would boycott the Sochi conference due to be held in Russia later this month following serious discussions with the UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura during the UN-sponsored Vienna meeting held on January 25-26. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
