Turkey, Russia and Iran voiced support on Tuesday as a meeting this week of a committee tasked with amending Syria's constitution opens in Geneva. 

Speaking at a joint press conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the launch of the committee showed that there is no military solution for the Syrian conflict.

The three foreign ministers also voiced their full adherence to the territorial integrity of Syria and expressed their stance to dismantle terrorism in all its manifestations in the country.

Earlier they met UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen.

The UN last month announced the long-awaited formation of the committee to include 150 members, split evenly between Syria's government, the opposition and Syrian civil society.

The committee's first meeting starts on Wednesday. Once all 150 meet for the two-day opening ceremony, 45 of them will begin drafting the document itself.

'A door-opener'

Pedersen said the aim would be to reach consensus on all issues, and where that is not possible, changes would only be made with a 75-per cent majority vote in the committee to avoid having any one side "dictate" the process.

When meeting press on Monday, Pedersen spoke highly of the meeting, saying it could be "a door-opener to a broader political process."

"I do believe that the Constitutional Committee's launch should be a sign of hope for the long-suffering Syrian people," he said.

But critics warn that the high bar could lead to stagnation.

It also remains unclear how long the process could take.

Pedersen said there was no deadline, but stressed that the parties had agreed "to work expeditiously and continuously."

He acknowledged that "the Constitutional Committee alone cannot and will not resolve the Syrian conflict," but he insisted that the committee's work needed to "be accompanied by other concrete steps and confidence-building measures, among the Syrians themselves and between Syria and the international community."

Pedersen called for both sides to release abductees and detainees, in particular women and children.

Constitutional review is a central part of the UN-led effort to end the war in Syria, which has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since erupting in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

'A united international community'

Before holding talks with diplomats from Turkey, Russia and Iran, Pedersen said he enjoyed the "full support and backing on this from a united international community."

"We emphasized the importance of the need to deal with humanitarian issues throughout the whole territory, and we emphasized the need to establish the environment conducive to the return of refugees and internally displaced people," the Turkish foreign minister said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the launch of the committee is a "victory." He said they agreed that the most fundamental thing for the Syrian peace process is to ensure the implementation of UN resolution 2254, to ensure the political process will be carried out by the Syrians themselves and all the external stakeholders should create the most conducive environment for it.

"It took quite a lot of time and a lot of difficulties to come to this very important event, it is our common view and conviction that this is our huge joint victory," Lavrov said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the key to ending the Syrian conflict has always been through the facilitation of a viable political solution, stressing that "the committee will have our full support."

He added that if the smooth functioning of the committee can be ensured, the committee may pave the way for a comprehensive political process in Syria, which is the only way to establish lasting peace, stability and security there.

"We are at a very challenging but hopeful moment, we should keep the hope for the Syrian people," he said.

(Cover: Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a news conference, a day ahead of the first meeting of the new Syrian Constitutional Committee at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, October 29, 2019. /Reuters Photo)

(With inputs from Xinhua and AFP)