Syria’s opposition says Iran and Russia hinder Astana talks
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – On Wednesday, the Syrian opposition delegation to the Astana Peace Talks said Iran and Russia hamper the political track.
Speaking to North Press, head of the opposition delegation Ayman al-Asimi, said “the Russians care only for easing the sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime so that Russia will not be charged with additional costs.”
“Russia wants a prepaid occupation. The precise of their stances and all their statements is to reach the above mentioned outcome.”
In turn, Yaser Abdurrahim, a Syrian opposition figure, said “the regime’s interruption of the political track and agenda of the Constitutional Committee is by flagrant Russian orders.”
“The regime is impeding the political track with the purpose to gain some time which can allow it achieve military profits on the ground,” he tweeted.
“Russia instructs al-Assad’s government to hamper any signs of political solutions because Russia’s regime is like a mafia and only knows killing and murder.”
Abdurrahim stressed the necessity to continue deliver UN humanitarian aids to the Syrians through official cross borders of “the Syrian rebels” as he put it.
“We do not accept more than six million people in Syria’s northern liberated areas to be under the mercy of Assad’s mercy; Assad’s regime is siege and starvation,” he added.
He described Iran as a sectarian state whose presence in Syria aggravates division and incites demographic change. “The Iranian presence on Syria’s territories hinders the political process.”
The Syrian opposition figures speech came in the heel of an agreement among Russia, Turkey and Iran to hold a trilateral summit in Tehran in early 2022.
Earlier, Ali Asghar Khaji, a special assistant to Iran’s Foreign Minister for special political affairs, said Iran and Russia agreed to convene a summit to coordinate for the next Astana Peace talks in February and March 2022.
Contrary to the allegations and in the wake of the talks in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan capital, Russian Presidnet’s Special Representative for Syria, Aleksandr Lavrentiev, said the Syrian opposition mostly propose demands unacceptable by other negotiators, hindering talks of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva.
“The opposition has a way of making demands and asking questions that prompts the pro-government side to adopt the hard line. We need to go down the path of finding compromises, of not provoking each other to take tough steps,” he noted.
The first round of Astana Peace Talks kicked off five years ago by the guarantors of the three states Russia, Turkey and Iran. 16 sessions have been held up to now, the last one was in mid-June.
The talks, currently taking on, is to address several issues such as the current situation in Syria, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the resumption of the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, the exchange of prisoners, the release of hostages, and the search for missing persons.