The opposition Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) urged on Sunday the resumption of direct UN-sponsored talks with the regime of President Bashar Assad, in the wake of the return of Damascus to the Arab fold after a 12-year isolation.
In a statement following a two-day meeting in Geneva, the SNC called on "brotherly and friendly countries to support the efforts of the UN to take all necessary resolutions to fulfill a comprehensive political solution".
The statement called for a solution in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254, which set out a roadmap for a political transition.
"The international, regional and Syrian conditions provide an appropriate circumstance for the resumption of direct negotiations... under a specific agenda and timetable," the SNC added in the statement.
The UN has played the mediator’s role between the government and the opposition since the beginning of the conflict, and it held several rounds of talks that were mostly in Geneva in 2018, but they hit an impasse.
After the failure of negotiations, the UN focused on holding talks to draft a new constitution, but no progress was made.
The Syrian opposition received support from several Arab states during the first years of the conflict, but this support gradually diminished with the stalemate of the political process.
Twelve years after the war, the political opposition has lost much of its momentum.
More than one decade after some Arab states severed ties with Damascus, the Arab League announced last month the return of Damascus to the AL after around 12 years of suspending its membership.
Saudi Arabia resumed ties with Damascus, knowing that some Syrian opposition figures were headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad headed last month to the Arab summit in Jeddah to break the regional isolation of Damascus.
The Arab states seek to play a “leading” role in reaching a political settlement for the conflict, according to several statements.
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said late last month that "new diplomatic activity in the region could be an opportunity if seized."
