UN Envoy to Visit Damascus to Activate Constitutional Committee’s Work

The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, is scheduled to visit Damascus on Tuesday to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem at Moscow’s advice.

Pedersen and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on Friday in Moscow and discussed means provide stable conditions for the Syrian Constitutional Committee to operate, said Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

Discussion also covered the situation on the ground, distribution of humanitarian aid and facilitation of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, the Ministry stated.

The Constitutional Committee was established on October 30, 2019 in Geneva.

Pedersen and Lavrov stressed the importance of promoting a political process led and implemented by Syrians themselves with UN support, as stipulated in UN Security Council resolution 2254 and the outcomes of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi.

They also exchanged views on the current situation in Syria and its neighboring countries.

“The two parties agreed that achieving lasting stability and security in Syria and the whole region is only possible if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states are respected,” the statement added.

They emphasized the need to intensify comprehensive humanitarian aid for all Syrians throughout the country without politicization and discrimination and in accordance with the standards of international humanitarian law.

“This would help create conditions for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes.”