27-04-2024 02:03 AM Jerusalem Timing

Lavrov: Syria Political Vacuum Must Be Prevented till Drafting New Constitution

Lavrov: Syria Political Vacuum Must Be Prevented till Drafting New Constitution

The parliamentary elections held in Syria on April 13 should prevent a legal vacuum in the country until a new Syrian constitution is worked out, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

LavrovThe parliamentary elections held in Syria on April 13 should prevent a legal vacuum in the country until a new Syrian constitution is worked out, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"There is the understanding that this process [intra-Syrian talks] should result in a new constitution on the basis of which new early elections will be held," the minister said. "But until that happens, a legal vacuum and a vacuum in the sphere of Syria’s executive power branch should be prevented. The elections that are held today should play this role."

Lavrov said that the intra-Syrian negotiations that are beginning in Geneva, Switzerland this week will focus on the discussion of the country’s political reform.

"The discussion by our common consent — by agreement of the International Syria Support Group, by decision of the UN Security Council — will focus on the political reform in the Syrian Arab Republic," he said.

According to the minister, "the Syrian sides will have to come to terms on a new constitution, on how they see the structures that will help the country to make a smooth transition to a new system."

The Russian foreign minister said that it is the Syrian people that should decide how the transitional process in Syria will be conducted.