Syrian regime under pressure to determine position on political transition

The UN Special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura asked the Syrian regime delegation to the Geneva talks to submit a concrete working paper on its vision for political transition.

De Mistura met with the Syrian regime delegation yesterday afternoon after he received a “good and concrete paper about political transition from the opposition delegation”.

Remarking on de Mistura’s request, a source close to the Assad regime told AFP on Saturday that the UN envoy has no right to exert pressure on anyone.

The Syrian regime delegation has stressed that a paper entitled “The basic elements of a political solution” should be followed, it calls for the formation of a broad-based government but does not mention political transition, which de Mistura considers a basis for the negotiations.

Read: Syrian opposition refuses delaying talks

The opposition delegation has criticised the regime’s lack of seriousness.

On Sunday, Deputy of the General Coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee, Yahya Qadmani, said he hopes that “Russia will use its influence to put pressure on the Assad regime to enter into serious negotiations on the political transition”.

Qadmani accused the regime of trying to evade responsibility after requesting to postpone the next round of negotiations “for two weeks” to hold legislative elections on 14 April.