Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Syrian Opposition Documents ‘Iranian Threat’ in ‘Geneva’ | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page
Media ID: 55374482
Caption:

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. Reuters


Syrian Opposition Documents ‘Iranian Threat’ in ‘Geneva’

by | May 20, 2017 | Middle East |

Syrian Opposition Documents ‘Iranian Threat’ in ‘Geneva’

Beirut- As expected, the sixth round of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva ended on Friday without any breakthrough, while the opposition uncovered it has warned UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura from the “Iranian danger.”

Opposition leader Colonel Fateh Hassoun told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that his group presented to de Mistura several memos on the Syrian regime’s possession of chemical weapons, on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the sectarian militias, in addition to the operations on the demographic changes carried out by the regime in Syria, the forced deportation of people and the file of refugees.

Also, in Geneva, the fourth day of the talks registered the return of the delegation of the armed factions to the ranks of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) after they had announced freezing their participation due to “the committee’s unclear vision.”

The two sides would later hold meetings in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to solve their disputes, sources from the HNC told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Meanwhile, the current round of talks was expected to cover four separate topics: the constitution, governance, elections, and combatting “terrorism.” But, de Mistura was more focused on issues pertaining to the constitution.

A western diplomat in Geneva told AFP the UN’s initiative on constitutional meetings was an effort to “get people into substance.”

“This is about the special envoy keeping the Geneva process warm and relevant. There’s been a lot of talk about Astana lately, but this is actually the main show for solving the Syrian conflict,” the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, with the exit of the last batch of refugees form al-Waer neighborhood in Homs on Saturday, the city would fall under the regime’s full control.

The Russian military police already began on Friday to deploy in several parts of the neighborhood.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the exit of refugees will be organized in two rounds, the first expected to head towards Idlib while the other will leave towards Jarablous, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.