A Russian delegation headed by the Kremlin's special envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev arrived in Geneva for discussions with Turkish and Iranian officials a day after the fifth round of the Constitutional Committee talks kicked off.
The committee talks have stalled and the Russians, Iranians and Turks have scrambled to “save” the constitutional path from its Syrian owners.
Openly, Moscow, Tehran and Ankara have claimed that their Geneva visit was aimed at convening the members of the Astana process.
The undisclosed purpose is keeping the constitutional path alive for three reasons: The need for the tripartite group to preserve this “accomplishment” that was born from its efforts; sending a message to US President Joe Biden and others that they have the final say in the political and military paths in Syria; and preventing the demise of the Constitutional Committee, which western countries are hoping for.
In fact, European countries, specifically France, have been exerting efforts in recent weeks to “shelve” the Constitutional Committee over its failure to reach any achievement. The committee is perceived as only granting cover for Moscow, Tehran and Ankara to continue their policies in Syria.
Moreover, some countries have gone so far as to accuse United Nations envoy Geir Pedersen of being complicit in this “game.”
Washington under President Donald Trump did not go to the extreme of declaring the demise of the committee, but had urged the envoy to frankly come out and declare who is to blame for the failure to achieve any constitutional breakthrough.
Despite its shortcomings, many other European countries remain committed to this course of action because they see no substitute to it. Western countries and the US agree, however, on the need to pursue new paths to implement UN Security Council resolution 2254 and not just suffice with the constitutional path. They also believe that there is no hope to achieve any breakthrough before the Syrian presidential elections set for mid-July. The polls will be held based on the current 2012 constitution.
Pedersen has signaled a change in view towards efforts to reach a solution in Syria, speaking of confidence-building measures, establishing a neutral environment and comprehensive ceasefire, releasing detainees and prisoners and allowing the return of refugees.
Moscow, however, shares a different view. Before the committee talks kicked off on Monday, it had positively received the suggestion of Hadi al-Bahra, head of the opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC), over a work mechanism of the fifth round of discussions. Russia wants to activate work on the committee according to declared agreements. However, the messages that were sent from Geneva to Moscow did not fall in line with Russia’s declared priorities.
The government delegation had reportedly informed Pedersen that it was not yet ready to begin “drafting” the constitution, saying “further discussions” were needed. Indeed, after the first round of talks ended on Monday, government delegation head Ahmed al-Kuzbari underlined the “need to continue preparations to begin the drafting process before the drafting can start.” He explained that there was a need to continue talks to uncover points of consensus and differences before reaching the drafting stage.
Effectively, the government focused on the issue of “national sovereignty”, which is tied to “the independence of national decision-making and rejecting occupation and foreign pressure.” It also stressed the need to restore state sovereignty and its authority over resources, protecting borders, foreign policy and the signing of agreements before reaching any settlement.
The opposition delegation, meanwhile, focused on the principles of the constitution and its procedural mechanisms in the hope of drafting these principles. They agreed on setting the date for the sixth round of talks.
This huge discrepancy in positions is a cause for concern for Tehran, Ankara and especially Moscow, which had spearheaded the constitutional reform path during the 2018 Sochi process.
Openly, Moscow appears eager to speed up dialogue between the government and opposition. The meetings opposition figures held with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have stressed this point. They also underscored the need to “preserve the path of constitutional reform with the hopes it will yield results within a year.” They stressed that this issue “has nothing to do with the presidential elections, which will be held according to the current constitution.” The commitment to this line of action was evident during Lavrov’s talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohamed Javad Zarif in Moscow on Tuesday.
