Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and new UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen underlined on Monday the importance of launching Syria’s constitutional committee as soon as possible, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“A detailed exchange of views was held on the prospects of promoting a political process being led and carried out by the Syrians themselves, with the assistance of the United Nations, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” the statement said.
In this regard, the sides stressed the importance of launching a constitutional committee backed by the Syrian parties-the Syrian government and the opposition-as soon as possible.
“Humanitarian issues were also considered, including the restoration of basic infrastructure, also in the context of creating conditions for decent and safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons to the places of their permanent residence,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The decision to set up a constitutional committee was agreed on at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, held in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 30, 2018.
The committee that would work on the country’s new constitution is supposed to include representatives from the Syrian government and opposition, as well as civil society members. Former UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that not more than 50 people should become the committee’s members.
