Russia supports further meetings of Syrian Constitutional Committee despite lack of progress - envoy

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Russian Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev made a statement in Geneva on Friday expressing his country’s backing of further meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee despite the recent lack of progress.
Speaking to Russian journalists at the country’s permanent mission in Geneva, Alexander Lavrentiev marked the fact that the conflicting sides of the Syrian crisis had “started speaking to each other.” However, he admitted that the sixth round of the Constitutional Committee meetings “was not fully productive.”
The Russian official expressed his country’s full support for possible further rounds of the constitutional talks as well as for the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy Geir Pedersen, noting that his team had carried out “great work”,
Nevertheless, Lavrentiev stressed that the “level of trust between the sides still remains on quite a low level, which does not enable to achieve a breakthrough in draftin a new constitution.”
The sixth round of meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee’s Small Body finished in Geneva on Friday. After almost a nine-month break, delegates from the Syrian government, opposition and civil society were holding meetings at Palais des Nations, the UN’s Geneva office, throughout the week under the mediation of the UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen.
However, a consensus between the parties could not be reached and they could not even agree on a date for the seventh round of talks yet.

SOT, Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Special Envoy for Syria (Russian): “What can I say about results of the session (of the Syrian Constitutional Committee meetings in Geneva)? In general the session has taken place but I can’t say it was fully productive. From the positive moments we can mark the fact that the sides started speaking to each other. A number of meetings between the Co-chairs (of the Syrian Constitutional Committee) has taken place, during which the sides were trying to agree on their positions and on what should be the workflow of discussions over certain principles (of constitution draft). Nevertheless these talks showed that the positions of the sides still remain complicated and having mostly contrary context.”

SOT, Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Special Envoy for Syria (Russian): “However this doesn’t provide ground for getting disappointed from perspectives of the further work of the Constitutional Committee. After the session had wrapped down we spoke to the Special Envoy (Geir Pedersen). He still expresses his hope that existing difficulties can be overcome and that further meetings can be arranged. As you might know the sides expressed their readiness for the next seventh and eighth rounds to be held in November and December, however there has been no agreement reached so far on certain dates. The UN Special Envoy suggested an option of holding the next meetings on November 22, and then to start the eighth round at the beginning of December. So far the delegation from the government has not given its accord with that.”

SOT, Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Special Envoy for Syria (Russian): “We believe that work should be continued and ways to come to some certain agreements in terms of the constitutional reform should be found.”

SOT, Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Special Envoy for Syria (Russian): “From its side the Russian delegation welcomed the efforts of the UN Special Envoy and his office. We see that a great amount of work has been done and we see results of that work. To our great delight we see that the whole atmosphere of cooperation between the sides has changed for the better. However I should repeat that the level of trust between the sides still remain on quite a low level, which does not enable to achieve a breakthrough in drafting new constitution. From our side we will continue to support that process as well as efforts of the UN Special Envoy.”

SOT, Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Special Envoy for Syria (Russian): “Mr. Pedersen’s proposal is still on the table. I think that November 22 is quite an acceptable date. This may probably be unacceptable for one of the side due to this or that reason because decisions are taken on the basis of consensus. In this case, the meeting may be postponed for a later date, probably, for beginning of December.”

SOT, Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian Special Envoy for Syria (Russian): “The next session of the ‘Astana format’ (Russia, Iran, Turkey) in Nur Sultan is scheduled for the end of the year. No specific date has been discussed at the moment, but I believe a decision will be made in the nearest future. Of course one of the main goals of the “Astana” format work will be the preparation of the summit of the three leaders which is to be held this time in Tehran.”
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