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On Tuesday, the UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, urged members of the UN Security Council to unify their position to break the deadlock that controls the Syrian dossier, during a closed-door session in which he also recognized the “failure of the political path” in this country. diplomats told AFP.
The failure of the Security Council to agree on a joint statement on Syria, at the end of a day of negotiations, was marked by the UN envoy to Damascus who called on the international community to overcome its divisions to reactivate the stalled political process, according to sources. diplomatic.
While sources said that Russia, the main supporter of the Syrian regime, has repeatedly obstructed the negotiations that took place to reach a joint communiqué, it was not possible to obtain a comment from the Russian diplomatic mission to the United Nations on the reasons for the failure of negotiations.
After the closed-door session held by the Security Council via video technology, Pedersen told reporters that “the current divisions in the international community must be overcome.” And he considered that “it is necessary to adopt a constructive international diplomacy on Syria. Without this, there is little possibility of real progress on the constitutional path.”
The monthly session of the Security Council to discuss the Syrian file is usually open, but after the failure of the last meeting of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva at the end of January, it was decided to close the session of the Security Council.
Pedersen admitted that this meeting, which he organized with representatives of the regime, the opposition and civil society at the end of January, which is the fifth for the Constitutional Committee, was a “missed opportunity” and was a “disappointment”.
He explained: “Some people suggested continuing to use the same mechanism, while others demanded a complete change in the frequency and duration of meetings, and the establishment of a schedule.”
Pedersen considered that there is a “lack of confidence and intention to settle, as well as the political space available to make settlements”, expressing his hope to visit Damascus soon and participate in the next meeting of the Astana Group to be held in Sochi, Russia.
The Constitutional Committee is charged with reviewing the 2012 constitution, was formed in September 2019 and held its first meeting a month later in Geneva, attended by 150 people. The small committee was then tasked with working out the details.
In Tuesday’s session, Western countries unanimously condemned the “failure” of the political path adopted to end the conflict in Syria, according to diplomats.
One of them said that the constitutional committee had achieved nothing “in 18 months”, accusing the Syrian regime of “procrastinating” to reach the current impasse.
The revision of the constitution is included in Security Council Resolution 2254, which was approved in December 2015, and also provides for the holding of elections under the supervision of the United Nations.
The United Nations hopes that this operation will open the door to the end of the conflict that has left more than 380,000 dead since 2011.
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