On Tuesday, UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen arrived in Damascus for the second visit in less than two months to discuss reviving the process of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva.
Al-Watan learned from informed sources that, on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Faisal Mekdad will meet with Pedersen and the accompanying UN delegation.
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As usual, Pedersen will also meet with Ahmed Kuzbari, the co-chair of the constitutional committee, to discuss amending the constitution. He will also meet with Alexander Yefimov, the Russian ambassador in Damascus, and the special representative of the Russian President for the development of relations with Syria.
The visit of the UN envoy comes after a briefing he gave to the UN Security Council on November 29, in which he expressed concern about the lack of meetings of the Constitutional Committee over the past six months. He considered that prolonging the stalemate in this regard would make it difficult for the committee to resume its work. Pedersen called for a new round of talks next January. “If the political will exists to prioritize returning the Syrians to their work, there is a clear way forward and enable the resumption of the track in Geneva. Substantive progress must be made when the committee meets again,” he said, stressing the need for the Syrian people to view the constitutional committee as a credible process.
In October, Pedersen visited Damascus and noted that he had discussed with Mekdad how to strengthen “confidence measures” as stipulated in UN Resolution 2254. He also offered an explanation regarding the principle of “gradual steps”, which will allow all parties to engage seriously and facilitate slow progress.
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.
