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Syrian delegates to meet in Geneva for latest round of constitutional talks
CGTN
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen addresses a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, July 22, 2021. /Reuters

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen addresses a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, July 22, 2021. /Reuters

The latest round of Syrian constitutional talks, participated by members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee's Small Body, will start in Geneva on Monday, a United Nations (UN) envoy said on Sunday.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen told a press conference on Sunday that the parties have agreed to prepare and start drafting for constitutional reform, and "the new thing this week is that we will actually be starting a drafting process for constitutional reform in Syria."

The UN envoy said he had met with the co-chair nominated by the Syrian government and the co-chair nominated by the opposition.

"For the first time, the two co-chairs, the one nominated by the government and the other nominated by the opposition, were sitting down together with me for a substantial and frank discussion on how we are to proceed with the constitutional reform and indeed in detail how we are planning for the week ahead of us," Pedersen said.

A view of Damascus, Syria, April 7, 2021. /Xinhua

A view of Damascus, Syria, April 7, 2021. /Xinhua

The UN envoy told reporters that the humanitarian and economic situation in Syria is extremely difficult, noting there are more than 13 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance.

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The Syrian Constitutional Committee – which comprises representatives of the Syrian government, the opposition, and civil society – was officially launched in Geneva on October 30, 2019, to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country.

The Committee's Small Body, including 45 delegates and 15 each from the three groups, has met in Geneva for five times, without making any major progress.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

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