On Monday, UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen briefed the UN Security Council about the Syrian issue, during which he touched on the Syrian Constitutional Committee’s progress, and the obstacles that have caused its talks to be suspended.
“Last month, I briefed you in detail on why plans for the ninth session of the Constitutional Committee’s mini-body were temporarily suspended,” Pedersen said. “I hope that the Committee will soon be able to meet in Geneva.”
“The main challenge facing the committee is not the place, but the lack of progress in essence,” the UN envoy added. Pedersen noted the need to “move forward with a broader process related to many other aspects covered under UN Resolution 2254.”
Pedersen expressed concern about “disturbing signs of military escalation in several locations across Syria.”
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“I am concerned that the cycle of escalation could lead to circumstances disintegrating even further, with civilians continuing to pay what has already been a high price,” Pedersen said.
Pedersen’s briefing comes days after he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Before that meeting, Pedersen also met with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Iran, according to Pedersen himself.
Pedersen was scheduled to host the ninth round of constitutional committee talks in Geneva late July.
However, he was forced to postpone the round of talks after Moscow raised issues over the venue; Russia insisted that Switzerland, which has sanctioned Russia over the Ukraine war, was “not neutral.”
During his briefing to the Security Council, Pedersen stressed that he hoped that the constitutional committee talks would resume in Geneva, without mentioning the conditions already set by Moscow.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
