Sochi conference sees Syrian delegates agreeing on rewriting constitution

BY Libyan Express Jan 31, 2018 - 11:42

Participants of a Russia-hosted conference for peace in Syria have agreed to set up a commission to rewrite the war-torn country’s constitution.

Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, said on Tuesday that delegates at the two-day conference at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, agreed to include both government and opposition officials in the 150-member committee.

De Mistura said the final agreement on the committee would be reached in the UN-led diplomatic process in Geneva based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254 – which serves as a framework for political transition in Syria.

But the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, a key sticking point that has repeatedly caused ongoing negotiations to fail, was not mentioned in the final statement.

Syria’s major opposition groups, who boycotted the event, rejected the proposal.

The main opposition bloc – the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) – accused Assad and Russia, Syria’s principal ally, of continuing to use military might and showing no interest in entering into honest negotiations.

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