Small Group On Syria Constitutes Notable Force In Political Settlement - Academic Naumkin

The Small Group on Syria should be viewed as an important player in the Syrian political settlement, despite certain bias of some of its members, Vitaly Naumkin, the academic director of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies, told Sputnik.

SOCHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2018) The Small Group on Syria should be viewed as an important player in the Syrian political settlement, despite certain bias of some of its members, Vitaly Naumkin, the academic director of the Russian academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies, told Sputnik.

"Many of the members of this group are not impartial, but the Small Group does exist. It includes the three most influential European countries and three very influential regional nations ... with which Russia has very close relations. Tomorrow, Sochi will host talks between [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah] Sisi, for instance. One cannot ignore it. This is a force," Naumkin said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Meanwhile, the academic stressed that proposals of neither side concerning the conflict settlement could be binding, noting that the search for a solution should be encouraged and become a subject of discussion.

The Small Group on Syria is a format that brings together Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and United States. The members of the group regularly meet in a bid to find a solution to the Syrian conflict.

Most recently, in late September, the group called on UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to report back to the Security Council on the progress toward convening a constitutional committee for Syria no later than October 31.