The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) to Brussels, headed by President Salem al-Meslet, met several Western delegations on the sidelines of the Sixth Brussels Conference with delegations from the United States and European countries.
Meslet met with a delegation from the U.S. State Department headed by Ethan Goldrich, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Andrew Mueller, Senior Adviser to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and Zahra Bell of the U.S. National Security Council on the sidelines of the sixth annual donor’s conference on Syria. The two delegations discussed the developments in the political process. The SOC’s delegation stressed the need to open all tracks of UN Resolution 2254.
The SOC’s delegation stressed the need to maintain the sanctions on the Assad regime and to reject attempts to normalize relations with it in order to force it to engage in the political process and agree to a real political transition that fulfills the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom and dignity.
UK
The SOC delegation also met with a delegation from the British Foreign Office on the sidelines of the sixth annual Brussels conference.
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The British delegation was headed by Vijay Rangarajan, Director-General Americas and Overseas Territories of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British envoy to Syria Jonathan Hargreaves.
The two sides discussed the political process which has been stalled due to the Assad regime’s refusal to seriously engage and its insistence on pursuing a military solution with the support of Russia and Iran.
EU
The delegation met with a delegation from the Belgian Permanent Mission to the European Union at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by the Belgian envoy for Syria, Mark Otte, and the permanent representative of Belgium to the European Union, Willem van de Voorde.
The SOC’s delegation reaffirmed its commitment to the political process and the implementation of UN resolutions on Syria, especially the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254. They also stressed the need to reject attempts to normalize relations with the Assad regime and maintain sanctions on it.
The two sides talked about the situation in the liberated areas. The SOC’s delegation stressed the importance of supporting the Syrian Interim Government to manage these areas, improve the living conditions of the population, and improve services.
This article was 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.
