Russia seeks constitutional reforms in Syria
November 11, 2015, 12:32 pm

Russia wants UN envoy Staffan de Mistura to launch talks between armed opposition groups in Syria and the government of Bashar Al-Assad [Xinhua]

“It’s just Russian contribution, how we launch a political process … to make parties work together, government and opposition,” he told the Associated press.

The eight-point document, which has been making the rounds at the UN headquarters in New York, envisions an 18-month constitutional reform process followed by a referendum on the amendments.

This in part lays the groundwork for presidential elections soon thereafter.

The document was leaked three days ahead of the second round of Vienna talks on the Syrian crisis.

The first round on October 30 brought together senior representatives from Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, as well as the UN’s special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

It marked the first time rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran joined discussions on Syria. The two countries have backed opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemeni conflicts.

The armed Syrian opposition – classified as moderates by the US – did not participate in the talks.

According to Reuters, central to some of the proposals in the document is a Russian demand that the UN Security Council immediately classify the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) a terrorist organization.

The document also said that de Mistura should begin and oversee a political process between the Syrian government and “a united delegation of the opposition groups”.

Late last month, Egypt and Russia announced that they were working on forming a united front of opposition groups that would – in theory – meet with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to discuss a post-civil war administration.

While the leaked document makes no reference to Assad’s role in the interim period, Russia had earlier indicated he would stay on during a transitional period.

Saudi Arabia and Syrian armed opposition groups say there can be no role for Assad.

The creation of transitional governing body for Syria with full executive powers, leading to elections, is a tenet of the Geneva Communique of 2012 – when Russia, the US, China, France, United Kingdom, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar first met to begin a peace process to resolve the conflict.

The UN estimates that 250,000 people have been killed since then, and up to six million displaced.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies