Russia Expects Breakthrough Soon In Launching Syrian Constitutional Committee - Safronkov

Russia believes the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will soon reach a breakthrough, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov told the members of the Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2019) Russia believes the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will soon reach a breakthrough, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov told the members of the Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday.

"We trust that we will soon be able to achieve a breakthrough in the launch of the constitutional committee," Safronkov said during UNSC open consultations on the political developments in Syria.

Safronkov said in recent days Russian representatives held extensive discussions on the formation of the Committee with the members of the Syrian government, the opposition and other sides involved in the conflict in Syria.

The strategic aim, he added, is to launch a fully-fledged political process in Geneva under the auspices of the UN and Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen based on Security Council resolution 2254.

The settlement in Syria is being discussed in several formats - in Geneva and Nur-Sultan. In addition, the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi last year served as the first attempt to bring together a wide range of interested parties. The main result of the meeting was the decision to set up a Syrian Constitutional Committee that would work in Geneva. The Constitutional Committee would be tasked with preparing constitutional reforms in Syria.

The conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011, but in 2017, the focus shifted from anti-terrorist operations towards a political settlement, the return of refugees and reconstruction.