UN envoy to Syria meets Astana guarantors for Geneva talks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations special envoy for Syria, opened talks in Geneva on Tuesday with representatives from Russia, Turkey, and Iran to discuss the establishment of a committee to draft a post-war Syrian constitution. 

Further meetings are planned in the coming weeks with the envoys of Britain, France, Germany, Jordan, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Damascus has submitted a list of 50 people it would like on the constitutional committee. A similar list of 50 candidates from the Syrian opposition is expected soon. 

Hammering out a new constitution “is a key building block of a revitalized political process” to end war, de Mistura said ahead of the meetings, AFP reports.

Russian Deputy FM Mikhail Bogdanov said the question of “forming a constitutional commission” will be discussed in-line with the decisions of the Syrian National Congress, according to state-run TASS news agency on Friday.

Issues like the process for elections in Syria have been a major sticking point between Russia – the Syrian regime’s main backer – and other UN member states.

The UN-brokered peace process in Syria has made little progress over its nine rounds. 

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