Guterres: The constitutional committee is not sufficient to reach a solution in Syria

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed his hope that the meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee would proceed, but he considered that this was not enough.

“We need to get out of the stalemate, and the only way to get out of the stalemate is for the Syrians to unite,” Guterres said at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters, noting that “the Syrians should look at the example of Libya.

He added, “The ceasefire in Syria is a positive thing, although it is not ideal, but it is somewhat steadfast,” noting at the same time that “the stalemate surrounds the Syrian issue.”

He called on the Syrians to meet and seriously discuss the future, the future with regard to reconciliation, and with regard to elections, the constitutional framework of the country, human rights and all other dimensions of Syria.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations directed his words to the Assad regime, the opposition and other forces participating in Syria, to understand that they “need to unite,” considering that “this would be the only way to reduce foreign influence in Syria.”

Guterres said: “The United Nations will do everything in its power to support Syria and facilitate the peace process,” and expressed his hope that all other countries involved in the Syrian crisis would understand that if we can reach a solution, it will benefit everyone.

This comes at a time when the discussions of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva are continuing, amid constant procrastination and evasiveness by the Assad regime’s delegation to gain time, as the assembled delegations, despite the efforts of the UN envoy and his tours of many countries, were unable to achieve any progress in this path.