TASSSat, 27 Jan 2018 19:44 UTC
© AP Photo/Diaa Hadid
The Syrian Negotiations Committee will not participate in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, the organization's leader Nasr al-Hariri said after intra-Syrian talks in Vienna."In a free and transparent voting we have come to the decision the Committee will not participate in the Sochi conference," he said on Saturday. "We hope, the congress in Sochi will be very useful if it favors implementation of the UN SC's resolution 2254, we shall hail it."The vote took place late on Friday. According to sources familiar with the situation, 26 out of 36 members voted against participation, which is sufficient to take the decision.
The Negotiations Committee's representative Firas al-Khaldi confirmed to TASS the information to boycott the Sochi meeting is true. Qadri Jamil, the chairman of the Moscow group of the Syrian opposition, told TASS that four members of the Moscow Group had voted for the committee's participation in the Congress, as well as four members of the Cairo Group and two independent members.
The guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire - Russia, Iran and Turkey - announced at a meeting held in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana in December 2017 that the Syrian National Dialogue Congress would take place in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30.
The event will feature about 1,500 participants, representing different political forces in Syria. The participants will discuss a new Syrian constitution and preparations for the UN-sponsored elections.
Comment: The decision of the Syrian Negotiations Committee to boycott the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi
would not affect the forum, a source at the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Saturday.
"No, of course, it would not affect. We have invited everyone, who want; those who do not want would not participate," the source said, adding "the Congress would be without them, unfortunately, that's it."
Some members of the Syrian Negotiations Committee
will participate in the Sochi Syrian National Dialogue Congress, head of the Moscow platform Qadri Jamil told TASS on Saturday.
"The Moscow platform's opinion is it would be reasonable and useful to go to Sochi," he said. "We shall go to Sochi."
Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev
regrets the Syrian opposition's negotiations committee's decision to reject invitation to the Syrian National Dialogue Congress due in Sochi on January 29-30.
"I deeply regret it," Kosachev told TASS on Saturday. "The Congress provides a real chance to advance in bringing various forces closer together in order to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254," he added.
See also:
In advance of upcoming Sochi peace talks, US sez 'Russia responsible for all chemical attacks in Syria'
Comment: The decision of the Syrian Negotiations Committee to boycott the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi would not affect the forum, a source at the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Saturday. Some members of the Syrian Negotiations Committee will participate in the Sochi Syrian National Dialogue Congress, head of the Moscow platform Qadri Jamil told TASS on Saturday. Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev regrets the Syrian opposition's negotiations committee's decision to reject invitation to the Syrian National Dialogue Congress due in Sochi on January 29-30. See also: In advance of upcoming Sochi peace talks, US sez 'Russia responsible for all chemical attacks in Syria'