November 11, 2015

Russia reveals 'peace plan' for Syria ahead of Vienna talks

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Wednesday 11 Nov 2015 - 19:38 Makkah mean time-29-1-1437

(Image from BBC)

Geneva, (IINA) - A Russian document, which was circulated at the UN, has proposed a constitutional reform process in Syria, lasting 18 months, to be followed by presidential elections. The document does not say whether Bashar al-Assad should remain in power during that time, BBC reported.
The document says that certain Syrian opposition groups should take part in key talks on the crisis in Vienna on Saturday.
A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said that the priority of next Saturday's meeting should be to establish which Syrian opposition groups are to be regarded as partners in the process, and which are terroristic and unacceptable.
The eight-point proposal provided by Russia does not to rule out Bashar al-Assad's participation in the elections, which is the demand of all the countries involved in the crisis except Russia and Iran.
"[The] popularly elected president of Syria will have the functions of commander-in-chief of the armed forces, control of special services and foreign policy", the document is quoted by Reuters as saying.
It says that the reform process should not be chaired by Al-Assad, but by a candidate agreed upon by all sides.
It also calls for UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura to launch a political process between the Syrian government and "a united delegation of opposition groups" on the basis of the June 2012 agreement between major powers in Geneva, which calls for the formation of a transitional government for Syria.
De Mistura on Tuesday urged world powers to build on the momentum of new international talks to help devise a roadmap to end the four-year war. "The momentum in Vienna needs to not be missed", he told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council.
It is noteworthy that about 20 countries and international groups will attend the next talks slated for Saturday.
AG/IINA

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