28-03-2024 02:56 PM Jerusalem Timing

Jaafari: Everything Connected to Syria Presidency Not on Geneva Table

Jaafari: Everything Connected to Syria Presidency Not on Geneva Table

The head of the Syrian government delegation to Geneva stressed that all issues connected to the Syrian presidency has no relation to the peace talks taking place in the Swiss capital.

The head of the Syrian government delegation to Geneva stressed that all issues connected to the Syrian presidency has no relation to the peace talks taking place in the Swiss capital.

Talking to Russian news website, Sputnik, Bashar Jaafari said that the government delegation has just received feedback on its amendments of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura's 12 points on reconciliation plan from High Negotiating Committee (HNC) opposition group and is awaiting comments from other opposition groups.Head of Syrian government delegation to Geneva peace talks, Bashar al-Jaafari

At the end of March round of peace talks, de Mistura made a list of 12 points with proposals on Syria’s reconciliation on which parties to the intra-Syrian talks might agree.

"Basically, our amendments, and there are not many, are qualitative in nature, and we gave them to the UN envoy [de Mistura], and asked him to find out the opinion of other opposition groups involved in the negotiations in Geneva, and to give us the answers," Sputnik quoted Jaafari as saying.

On Monday, the Riyadh-backed High Negotiations Committee asked de Mistura to put the ongoing talks in Geneva "on pause," blaming the government for escalation of violence in Aleppo.

He stressed that the idea of the appointment of three deputies under President Bashar Assad is not included in the mandate of intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva.

"He [de Mistura] told us during a meeting that he had heard about this offer from one of the members of the Group of Riyadh [Syria's opposition High Negotiation Committee], meaning he did not promote this idea. In any case, these suggestions are not included in the mandate of groups which meet in Geneva, everything that is connected with the presidency in Syria has no relation to the Geneva meeting," Jaafari told Sputnik.