Attempts to disrupt inter-Syrian talks continue

Yesterday the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov and the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel al-Jubeir discussed by phone the development of the situation in the Syrian settlement in the context of the new opportunities which have appeared as a result of Moscow’s decision to withdraw the main part of the Russian contingent from Syria. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that al-Jubeir highly appreciated the step by the Russian leadership and confirmed Saudi Arabia’s support of additional measures on following the ceasefire regime, prevention of its violation, and the continuation of anti-terrorist operations in accordance with UN resolution 22-68, which was adopted due to the initiative of Russia and the USA.

Earlier, Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters that President of Syria Bashar Assad “must leave as soon as possible, and if the head of the Syrian state doesn’t resign, then serious escalation of the conflict is possible.” However, Lavrov and al-Jubeir stressed the importance of a stable political process with the participation of representatives of the Syrian government and the whole range of opposition forces on the basis of the principles which were approved by the International Syrian Support Group and UN Resolution 22-54.

According to Hassan Rishe, a professor at Damascus University, Syria's ex-ambassador to Russia, “national reconciliation is progressing well, and more than 60 organizations have agreed to the truce." “For five years I have been watching an organized crime against the Syrian people. We believe that Syria must remain a secular state, but there are forces that want Syria to be split up, so as to turn it into a fanatical radical Islamic country with a fundamentalist bias,” Hassan Rishe said.

He states that Daesh wants only Sunni Muslims to live in Syria, and all other ethnic and national groups should pay the tax of life, which is paid by non-Muslims. “This is rejected by the Syrian people. Syria is a country that has always been multi-ethnic. We have Kurds, Armenians and other nationalities. There are many religious movements and sects. We want Syria to be a secular country. And all the Syrian people have to work and fight for Syria to become a secular country. There are, of course, attempts to undermine the negotiations. We cannot predict in advance where the talks, the dialogue that takes place will lead. But I would expect that the talks will continue, there will be comments and then reforms.”