Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the role of the Syrian National Coalition, which includes all ethnic and religious spectra of the Syrian people, needs to be boosted as it has been recognized by 114 countries.
Cavusoglu pointed out that the positions expressed by the Syrian Coalition and the vision it put forward during the Geneva conference have shown that it is the most powerful alternative in Syria, noting that Syria’s future needs an inclusive government of national unity that should draft a new constitution to establish the rule of law and pave the way for conducting democratic elections.
He added that Turkey has always emphasized the need to provide support to the Syrian Coalition, while Khoja’s recent visit to the United States is important in this context.
Moreover, Cavusoglu stressed that all parties agree that Bashar al-Assad must relinquish power, adding that talks are now revolving about how this should be achieved and who will succeed him. He notes that there are different views on the establishment of safe zones in Syria, and that the parties concerned have yet to reach an appropriate decision on this regard.
Spokesperson for the Syrian Coalition Salem al-Meslet earlier said that the Syrian Coalition’s participation in the upcoming bilateral consultation meetings to be hosted by the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in Geneva aims to discuss the document of basic principles for a political settlement. The document, which was adopted and ratified by the Syrian Coalition and a number of Syrian opposition blocs, lays out a roadmap for a political solution in Syria.
“The Syrian Coalition’s decision to attend the Geneva meetings, while not unilateral, was made after the Syrian Coalition met with a large number of representatives of rebel factions, civil society organizations and revolutionary forces. After several consultative meetings, the aforementioned parties agreed on five key points for a political solution in Syria.”
“Most significantly, the agreed upon points state that there is no solution without the toppling of the Assad regime, with all its symbols and security organs, and that Assad and his ruling elite should have no role in the transitional phase or the future of the country,” Meslet added.
“The participants also agreed to work towards the highest degree of coordination between the political and military forces of the opposition, and to protect independent national decision-making in coordination and cooperation with the allies of the revolution. They call on all Syrians, wherever they are and whatever their affiliation, to stand firm in the face of any plans to split the country or to rehabilitate or reproduce the Assad regime. Furthermore, the agreement stresses that any solution to the conflict must be comprehensive and address all aspects of the Syrian crisis.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
