A scheduled meeting of the General Commission of Syrian National Coalition has been delayed to mid-August, opposition sources have confirmed.
The meeting will now be held after the President of the Coalition, Ahmad Jarba, finishes his international and regional tour, which will include Doha, where he is due to meet the new Prince of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
Sources emphasized the importance of Jarba's visit to Qatar to reinforce political support and unity of all forces within the Coalition, after he defeated Mustafa Sabbagh, who was close to Qatar, in elections for Coalition's presidency.
Sources said the Coalition is expecting the tour to yield positive results on three key issues. Firstly, the Coalition has a coherent policy towards a political solution based on the execution of the Geneva I agreement, especially on the question of forming a transitional government with full authority to oversee supervises security and military bodies.
Secondly, the Coalition will provide a plan, based on the necessity of providing the Syrian people with means of defense, to the problem of arming the opposition and the creation of appropriate circumstances to do so, in order for the political solution at Geneva II to succeed.
Thirdly, the Coalition has left a positive impression about the opposition in general, following the last elections and the process of expansion, especially after a period of disunity among its parties.
Sources said that members of the political commission of the Coalition submitted a draft political statement at the last meeting, specifying the political and organizational structure of Coalition's parties in order to strengthen its relationships with people inside Syria and with the Free Syrian Army.
The commission will write another draft outlining its political commitments and policy towards Geneva II, and the political solution.
"We don’t see any disagreement among the members of the commission," a spokesman said.
It is expected that the next meeting of the commission will decide on the leadership and makeup of the transitional government. The commission will also decide on the formation of specialized committees in defense and security.
Jarba has showed a readiness to participate in Geneva II and a willingness to meet Bashar Assad's representatives without preconditions. However he has said that there should be "a chronological framework" for the conference, because the Assad's regime tends to "waste time".
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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