An eighth round of talks on a new constitution for Syria has concluded with rival parties having made very little headway, the UN mediator said.
The Syrian Constitutional Committee was created in September 2019 and first convened a month later.
The tentative negotiations are aimed at rewriting the war-torn country’s constitution. It is hoped the talks could pave the way toward a broader political process.
The discussions between 15 representatives each from Syrian Government, the foreign-backed opposition, and civil society are mediated by UN envoy Geir Pedersen.
But the Norwegian diplomat said this week’s eighth round of talks, co-chaired by the leaders of the government and the opposition delegations, had made scant progress.
The talks discussed constitutional principles, including preserving and strengthening state institutions, the supremacy of the constitution and the hierarchy of international agreements, and transitional justice.
One day was spent discussing draft constitutional texts on each principle, presented by a delegation.
On Friday’s fifth day, delegations submitted revisions to the texts following the week’s discussions.
“On some, the differences remained significant. On others, there were areas of potential common ground,” Pedersen’s office said in a statement.
A ranking Iranian diplomat took part in the 8th round of the talks and held a meeting with the representatives of the UN, Russia and Turkey at the conclusion of the negotiations.
At the end of the round, the envoys representing Iran, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations discussed the results of the negotiations.
Pedersen thanked the three guarantors of the Astana peace process for their cooperation and support for the continuation of the Syrian constitutional committee.
Source: Agencies
