New round of Syrian constitutional talks conclude

Geneva, Jan 30 The week-long fifth meeting of the Small Body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee has concluded, but a senior UN official has expressed disappointment for the way it was is being conducted.

"I told the 45 members of the drafting body that we can't continue like this, that the week has been a disappointment," Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, said while addressing a briefing here on Friday.

He told reporters that the delegates even could not reach an agreement on several important things of the methodology of how to continue the meeting, and the meeting actually started on Monday without an agreed common ground.

"I explained that we need the two Co-Chairs to work better together, via me or they sit down and discuss. And we need to produce then a work plan for how the meetings will be organized in the future," he said.

He told reporters that for now there was no agreed time for a new meeting.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee, which comprises representatives of the country's government, the opposition, and civil society, was officially launched in Geneva on October 30, 2019.

The Committee's Small Body, including 45 delegates with 15 each from the three groups, held several sessions since then, without making any major progress.

( With inputs from IANS )