As UN pushes for a new constitution, US and Russia boost contacts
For UN Special envoy for Syria, the Syrian government and the opposition are ready for talks to draft a new constitution. UN confirms a “significant drop” in violence in some areas. A seventh round of meetings is set for June in Geneva. Washington and Moscow set up “deconfliction zones" to avoid clashes between their militaries.
Damascus (AsiaNews) – Russian and US military forces have intensified contacts to avoid clashes between their forces in Syria. At the same time, United Nations diplomats are working to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
For the first time, all parties in UN-mediated talks in Geneva plan to discuss a new constitution. United Nations special envoy for the Syria crisis Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council that the Syrian government and Saudi-backed High Negotiation Committee (HNC), the main opposition umbrella group, were receptive to a seventh round of political talks sometime in June.
The senior UN diplomat said there was additional "good news" in reports of "a significant drop in violence, including in aerial bombardment, in most areas" following a high-level meeting this month in Astana, Kazakhstan, guaranteed by Russia, Turkey and Iran.
However, fighting, including bombing, continues in certain areas like Hama, Homs and Damascus, which appear to be outside the de-escalation zones established by the three guarantors.
"Our goal is not just de-escalation but the realization of the nationwide cease-fire," de Mistura said, "and thus we have a common interest in ensuring that no party takes advantage of any ambiguities to make territorial gains or divert resources to other battlefronts." The aim is to avoid “a constitutional, legal or institutional vacuum in Syria before, during or after any negotiated transitional political process."
De Mistura stressed that the UN is not seeking to draft a new constitution, which must remain the right of the Syrian people, but "We are laying foundations for the time when the Syrians can do that," he said.
While this is not an immediate prospect, de Mistura went on to say that "we hope this would take us closer to the possibility for direct negotiations between government and opposition."
Meanwhile, on the ground, Washington and Moscow are increasing their cooperation.
“We have had to increase the amount of deconfliction work we are doing with the Russians given the tighter airspace that we are now working ourselves through,” said Lt Gen Jeffrey L. Harrigian, the commander of Air Forces Central Command,
Over the past few weeks, Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have shifted their action to the eastern part of the country, closer to the areas of operation of the US-led international coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group.
In order to avoid the very serious danger of friendly fire, the Russians and the Americans have decided to step up communications and exchange of information.
According to Pentagon sources, senior officers in both capitals and their respective headquarters in the region will be in constant contact.
This has led to the formation of “de-escalation zones”, not to be confused with the security zones agreed upon in Astana, where only one side involved in the conflict is expected to operate.
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