Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, stressed that the constitution and all related issues are Syrian ones and are to be decided exclusively by the Syrian people.
During the UN Security Council Briefing on the situation in the Middle East on Monday, Jaafari said that it is not possible to accept any idea that may lead to interference in Syrian internal affairs.
“The constitution and all related details are a purely sovereign issue, which only Syrians can decide and therefore, any idea that leads to interference in Syrian internal affairs is unacceptable,” Jaafari made it clear.
He reiterated that only the Syrian people have the right to decide the future of their country, without foreign interference and that the political process should be led by the Syrians themselves.
The Permanent Representative emphasized that mission of the UN Special Envoy is as a facilitator of the work of the committee in charge of discussing the current constitution, so he cannot consider himself as a third party.
“The Syrian-Syrian national dialogue conference held in Sochi posed an opportunity for dialogue between the Syrians without foreign interference,” Jaafari said, adding that the participants reflected the various segments of Syrian society.
He said that Syria is considering and dealing positively with the outcomes of the conference, represented by establishing a committee to discuss the current constitution and they are keen to witness the birth of this committee as soon as possible.
“Syria was the first to hand over a list of members supported by the Syrian state and therefore no one can doubt its support for this process or its commitment to the outcomes of Sochi Conference,”
He renewed the importantance of the role played by Russia and Iran as the guarantors of the Astana track, especially given that the idea of forming a committee to discuss the constitution was based on the Syrians agreement at the Sochi Conference, which was proposed by the guarantor countries and in the context of the understandings of the Astana track.
He stressed that the Syrian government has been an essential part of the Astana track, so no can ignore its role or the role of Moscow and Tehran.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
