Syria opposition calls to resume direct talks with regime

The Syrian opposition’s Negotiation Commission yesterday called for the resumption of direct talks with the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, under UN auspices.

“The international, regional and Syrian conditions provide an appropriate circumstance for the resumption of direct negotiations… under a specific agenda and timetable,” the commission said in a statement following a two-day meeting in Geneva.

It called on “brotherly and friendly countries to support the efforts of the UN to take all necessary resolutions to fulfil a comprehensive political solution, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254.”

After 12 years of devastating war, the political and military opposition no longer enjoys the same momentum it did at the start of the conflict; including vital support from Saudi Arabia.

Last month, the Arab League announced that Damascus would return to its seat.

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, recently considered that “renewed diplomatic activity in the region – if seized – could constitute an opportunity and a shift in efforts to search for a political solution in Syria.”

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