Coronavirus pandemic stalled talks for more than a year 

Meeting of Syria ceasefire guarantor countries resumes in Sochi 

photo_camera AFP PHOTO/Russian Foreign Ministry - File photo from December 29, 2020 shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Sochi.

Delegations from the Syrian government and the opposition met again on Tuesday in the Russian city of Sochi, on the shores of the Black Sea, to continue the so-called Astana process, which began in 2016 when Russia, Turkey and Iran, key players in the Syrian conflict, achieved a brief ceasefire between the Syrian government and the rebels.  

The negotiations began with bilateral meetings and have continued with a plenary session attended by the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen.  

Observers from other countries such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Kazakhstan are also taking part in the Sochi consultations. The latter was precisely the promoter of the process in Astana, the capital of the country, which since 2019 has changed its name to Nursultan in honour of the president who ruled the country for 30 years.  

El presidente ruso Vladimir Putin y el presidente turco Tayyip Erdogan se dan la mano durante una conferencia de prensa tras las conversaciones en Moscú, Rusia 5 de marzo de 2020   PHOTO/REUTERS

"We all understand that the situation is very alarming. Everything must be done to prevent an escalation of violence and a new spiral of armed confrontation," Russia's special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavréntiev, told TASS. 

Lavréntiev also stated that they hope to "push" for an end to the conflict and defends the Astana process as "the only mechanism for finding solutions to the Syrian crisis". He said that they are closely following the work of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, which is tasked with drafting a new constitution. 

The diplomat stressed that the Constitutional Committee is "the only international forum that can come up with substantive results" and regretted that the United States is not participating despite the invitation. "At present, the Americans are busy with their internal affairs and, apparently, have not yet defined their position," Lavréntiev said.  

Soldados turcos patrullan la ciudad kurda del norte de Siria de Tal Abyad, en la frontera entre Siria y Turquía, el 23 de octubre de 2019   AFP/BAKR ALKASEM
Negotiations for Syrian constitution failing 

The UN envoy recently expressed pessimism about the Committee's fifth meeting at the end of January, which he described as a "missed opportunity" in the absence of a "clear plan of action". 

Geir Pedersen acknowledged that talks on the drafting of a new constitution, which he sees as the only tool for building a new political horizon for reconciliation, were failing.  

A small group of the Constituent Committee, made up of government, opposition and civil society representatives, met in the last week of last month without making any progress in the process, which was launched more than a year ago.  

"I set goals to achieve before starting this meeting and we have not achieved them," Pedersen complained. The Committee is still discussing procedural issues and principles, and has not yet entered into substantive discussions.  

Imagen de archivo de la Agencia Oficial de Noticias Árabe Siria (SANA) el 14 de noviembre de 2019 muestra a las tropas sirias desplegándose en una zona de la provincia nororiental siria de Hasakeh, en la frontera con Turquía   AFP PHOTO/HO/SANA

The UN envoy blamed the Syrian government delegation for being the one that is putting up the most obstacles, rejecting all the proposals presented and thus preventing any progress, however minimal, resulting in the meetings remaining at the same impasse as in the last four.  

"We cannot continue to meet if there is no change," warned Pedersen, who did not give a date for the next meeting and hopes to go to Damascus soon to meet with the Syrian government. 

The head of the opposition delegation, Hadi Albahra, also blamed the government for the blockade. "Hundreds of thousands of displaced people and refugees have been in camps for more than 10 years. We believe that Syrians deserve justice and dignity, and the only solution is to implement international resolutions," he said. 

On the one hand, Albahra called for a timetable with deadlines, while the head of the government delegation, Ahmad Kuzbari, argues that there should be no timetable so as "not to force the process". Kuzbari accuses the opposition of wanting to skip the preparation process and go straight to the drafting of the new basic law.

Un soldado monta sobre un vehículo militar ruso cerca de la ciudad nororiental siria de Qamishli, el 26 de octubre de 2019   PHOTO/AFP

 In 2015 the UN Security Council adopted a resolution whose main objective was the drafting of a new constitution and the holding of free elections. Neither has been achieved so far, and indeed, opposition groups fear that the Syrian government is delaying the adoption of a new constitution so that Bashar al-Assad can be re-elected in this year's presidential elections.  

In two months' time, in April, it will be a decade since the start of the civil war. As of last year, the conflict is estimated to have left approximately 387,118 people dead, with 2014 being the deadliest year, when 67,000 people were killed.  

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