Syrian opposition welcomes France’s call to form new contact group

Chief Coordinator of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Riyad Hijab yesterday welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls to form a new contact group to resolve the conflict in Syria.

“This initiative breaks the regime’s allied forces’ attempts to monopolise the formulation of a political solution,” Hijab said during a meeting with Macron on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He said that the most effective way to achieve political transition is to “hold Bashar Al-Assad, who has killed more than half a million Syrians, displaced millions, destroyed the country’s infrastructure, torn the Syrian social fabric and created terrorism, accountable of his actions”.

Hijab stressed that the calls to keep Al-Assad in power during the transitional period would exacerbate the existing crisis.

He said that the opposition has supported and continues to support the efforts of the international coalition, noting that the commission’s vision for a political solution includes a comprehensive plan to confront extremist ideologies and reduce the risk of recruiting youth to fight as part of extremist groups.

Read: France pushes new Syria initiative at UN

In July, France proposed to form a new diplomatic contact group which includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and main regional actors to try to find a solution to the conflict.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when Al-Assad’s regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests. Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and in excess of ten million displaced, according to the UN.