Syrian Constitution Talks Still At Initial Stage Over Division On Key Issues - Participant

Syrian Constitution Talks Still at Initial Stage Over Division on Key Issues - Participant

GENOA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) Discussions at the ongoing Syrian Constitutional Committee (SCC) session in Geneva still revolve around basic issues, as deepening distrust among key players threatens to obstruct consensus, a member of the SCC civil society delegation, Mais Krydee, told Sputnik.

The small body of the SCC reconvened in Geneva on Monday under the mediation of UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, who expressed hope for a "very important" session that would move from general discussions to the actual drafting of the constitution.

"I hope that we can make these discussions successful in the end and develop these negotiations, but so far my expectations are very low," Krydee said.

During the previous SCC session, only general national principles were discussed.

"We are still at the first point, there are still many differences about army, flag, nationality... We need more trust, at least on some points, to start a real discussion," Krydee stated.

She also stressed the need to keep these talks free of foreign influence.

"All of us must understand that this negotiation must be Syrian - Syrian and must not be oriented at foreign interests. Because if we start listening to the US interests, where is our nationality?" she added.

The SCC is a 150-strong body with equally-sized delegations from the government, opposition and civil society that is tasked with rewriting the nation's constitution amid conflicting issues.