Zarif Due in Geneva to Discuss Syria Constitutional Committee

Local Editor

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is traveling to Geneva on Tuesday for a UN-sponsored meeting on the formation of a Syrian constitutional committee.

The news was announced by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Monday evening, adding that Zarif would attend a trilateral consultative meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts and the UN secretary general’s special envoy for Syria for talks on the Syrian constitutional committee.

Staffan de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy for Syria who steps down at year-end, has tried since January to clinch an agreement on the identity of 150 members of the new constitutional committee to revitalize a dormant peace process.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government and the opposition have each submitted a list of 50 names, but Iran, Russia and Turkey have haggled over the final 50 members from civil society and “independent” members.

De Mistura said at the weekend the constitutional committee could be a starting point for political progress.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team