DAMASCUS: The formation of a UN-backed constitution-writing committee for Syria does not mean the country is ending its military operations, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said.
The United Nations on Monday announced the long-awaited formation of the committee which will include the government and opposition, but it remained to be seen if the step could finally end
the civil war.
The committee is to include 150 members — a third picked by the regime, an equal number by the opposition, and the remaining third by the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has hailed the committee as the first step towards finding a political settlement to the conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people in more than eight years of fighting.
But Muallem insisted that the formation of the committee “does not go against the military option” or prevent the continuation of “work done on the ground”.
“We are determined to free up every inch of our land,” he told a pro-government TV channel on Tuesday, adding that the “war will continue”.
“We will accept no foreign intervention in the drawing-up of our constitution,” he said.
The presence of US and Turkish military on Syrian soil also risks “hindering the work of the committee,” he added.
The UN first backed the idea of a committee at a conference hosted by Russia in January 2018 but Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s government delayed over the makeup of the body.
Experts urged caution, questioning how much the new committee is likely to achieve with Assad’s grip on power appearing to get stronger and stronger with each passing month.
TRAINING
Wearing clean bullet-proof vests and knee pads, fighters from a new Syrian amy battalion showcase the skills they have learned from Russia’s military advisers.
In the countryside west of Damascus, the soldiers carry out a mock assault, fire mortar rounds and rockets, perform mine-clearing and first aid exercises.
Large clouds of dust rise over the training camp as troops in camouflage fatigue open fire.
In the afternoon sun, top brass from both countries and dozens of journalists, including an AFP team invited from Moscow, are looking on.
— Agencies
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