Russia's UN Envoy Believes Syrian Constitutional Committee May Hold 1st Meeting In 2018

There is a possibility that the Syrian Constitutional Committee will hold its first meeting until the end of 2018, however this will require additional efforts regarding forming this body, Russia's envoy to the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG), Gennady Gatilov, told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2018) There is a possibility that the Syrian Constitutional Committee will hold its first meeting until the end of 2018, however this will require additional efforts regarding forming this body, Russia's envoy to the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG), Gennady Gatilov, told Sputnik.

"Such a possibility, of course, exists. However, obviously, this will also require some efforts from the UN special envoy for Syria [Staffan de Mistura], who will have to do a serious additional work with all sides," Gatilov said.

The role of the UN special envoy for Syria is critical as the official is in charge of forming the body that is tasked with rewriting the Syrian main law. The creation of the Syrian constitutional committee was agreed upon during the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Russian resort city of Sochi in late January. Earlier, de Mistura noted that he saw no reasons preventing the potential start of the committee's work in November.

When asked whether Russia will be striving for holding new investigations within the United Nations into Western accusations against the authorities in Damascus regarding alleged use of chemical weapons, Gatilov said that the investigations "must be conducted in order to find out the truth in this issue.

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No evidence or specific facts proving the use of chemical weapons by the authorities in Damascus have been provided, and that is why an objective investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) must be conducted, according to the Russian envoy.

Gatilov also called on the international community to take more collective efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Syria

"Collective efforts by the whole international community are needed in order to drastically improve the situation and solve those acute problems that have arisen as a result of the conflict in Syria," the Russian envoy stressed.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is a guarantor of the ceasefire in the country, while it also provides humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians and is actively engaged in dialogue on settlement to the Syrian crisis.