31 March 2017•Update: 02 April 2017
By Mohamed Sheikh Yusuf
GENEVA
Syria’s Kurdish National Council suspended its participation in meetings of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) due to its desire to add a special clause regarding Syria’s Kurds, Nasr al-Hariri, head of the opposition delegation to the Geneva talks, said.
The HNC has therefore decided to postpone discussing the issue until an upcoming meeting in Saudi capital Riyadh, a date for which has yet to be set.
Al-Hariri made the remarks in an interview with Anadolu Agency held on the sidelines of the talks in Geneva, which wrapped up Friday.
“We respect the Kurdish National Council’s opinion,” he said. “The Kurds represent an essential component of Syria, just like the Turkmens, Syrians, Assyrians, Circassians and Armenians.”
“The issue will be addressed at the upcoming committee meeting in Riyadh,” he added.
On Thursday, the Kurdish National Council suspended its participation in meetings of the HNC.
The council attributed the move to what it described as a disregard of the Kurdish issue by certain opposition parties, especially the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria.
Members of the opposition delegation met with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura at UN headquarters in Geneva after the latter had met with members of the Syrian regime delegation.
Remarking on the Russian position vis-à-vis recent developments in Syria, al-Hariri pointed out that Moscow supported the Assad regime and had therefore contributed to demographic change in Syria -- while simultaneously claiming it supported a political process.
“These two factors contradict one another,” said al-Hariri. “On the ground, they are helping the regime and contributing to displacement and demographic change, while also claiming to support the political process.”
He added: “We hope to see a change in the Russian position.”
"Russia has not fulfilled any of its commitments to preserve the Syrian state and state institutions,” he went on to assert. “It continues to target civilians in opposition-held areas on the pretext of fighting terrorism.”
“Such policies won’t lead to a solution in Syria,” al-Hariri continued. “The Russians must support genuine political transition.”
Regarding a recent agreement for the evacuation of two regime-held towns in the Idlib countryside, al-Hariri said: “This is unacceptable. Handing over the western Damascus area to Shia militias could lead to the division of Syria.”
Such a move, he went on, “will only lead to further suffering and a humanitarian disaster when they [local residents] flee their homes and seek refuge in other areas.”
The Geneva V talks, which began on March 23, wrapped up on Friday in the Swiss capital.
