Opposition representatives in Moscow stress on finding common ground

Moscow, SANA – As closed-door meetings on Syria were resumed on Tuesday in the Russian capital Moscow after their launch a day ago, some representatives of the opposition speak of efforts to try to find common ground among them, indicating an atmosphere of optimism.

SANA correspondent in Moscow quoted Sameer Hawash, member of the politburo of al-Shaab Party as saying that there is need for agreement and dialogue “so that we could arrive at a political solution in parallel to combating terrorism.”

This need for dialogue, he added, is quite necessary given the “very sharp” differences among the opposition parties in terms of their views, which therefore have to be shared in order to come to a unified vision, or at least a close one, on a way out of the crisis.

Something to be agreed on, Hawash stressed, is the necessity to support the Syrian Arab Army in the face of terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra, with which “dialogue is unthinkable”.

For his part, Fateh Jamous, Member of the opposition Peaceful Change Path Movement and Popular Front for Change and Liberation described Moscow meetings as “very important”, noting that the opposition parties who did not come to Moscow were seeking to abort the meetings.

He struck an optimistic note when he said that there is great opportunity to succeed to make big strides towards the political process since the opposition representatives present in Moscow seem to be ready to reach some sort of agreement despite the fact there are still some disagreements.

The secretary of the National Coordination Committee for the Syrian diaspora, Majid Habbo, said that these meetings provide a media and political platform to allow conveying “the voice of the opposition” which believes in the “national democratic project” and is not part of any international or regional projects.

Members of the Council of Tribes in Syria told SANA correspondent that the first day of the meetings was “positive” as it constituted a good starting point to exchange viewpoints, noting that disagreements in views were few.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the closed-door consultations are held away from media coverage.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Moscow’s consultations aim at providing an avenue for discussion among all Syrian sides, noting all the participating parties agree on the necessity of establishing peace and combating terrorism in Syria.

English Bulletin