Syrian foreign minister, UN envoy discuss resumption of Constitution talks

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem held a meeting on Sunday with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen to discuss the resumption of the Syrian Constitutional Committee's small group talks in Geneva, a diplomatic source told Sputnik.

"The sides discussed the resumption of meetings of the small group of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva in the near future ... The meeting was attended by Ahmad Kuzbari, the head of the delegation representing the government of Syria," the source said.

Pederson arrived in Damascus on a three-day visit on Saturday, the source said, adding that the diplomat plans to submit a report on the constitutional committee to the UN Security Council on October 27.

The UN-backed Syrian constitutional committee is a product of long-standing efforts by international mediators to reconcile the Syrian government and opposition. The 150-member body with equal representation of the government, opposition and civil society was launched on October 30, 2019 to work toward drafting a new constitution of Syria.

It has a smaller committee within it consisting of 45 members -- 15 from each of the three represented groups -- that is engaged in preparing constitutional initiatives. The larger body is responsible for adopting them.

The most recent session of the commission took place late in August in Geneva. Pedersen then said the sides had some strong differences but had been able to find areas of commonalities and show flexibility. (/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )