Peter Kenny
25 March 2022•Update: 27 March 2022
GENEVA
Another round of talks for a solution to the war in Syria ended in Geneva on Friday, with none of the parties offering signs of whether they would proceed to another level of negotiations.
The regime side made no comments while leaving the talks, which involved efforts to draft a new constitution for the country after over a decade of war, with opposition sources indicating to Anadolu Agency that "no agreements were reached" on the draft revision on constitutional articles.
UN Special Envoy on Syria Geir Pedersen canceled a scheduled press conference, issuing only a written statement.
"Before the Committee began its work this week, I appealed to the members to work with the sense of seriousness and compromise that the situation demands," said Pedersen.
"Two-and-a-half years after the launching of the Constitutional Committee -- an event that took nearly two years to bring about -- there is a clear need for this commitment to be embodied in the Committee's work."
Commitment needed
The UN envoy said commitment was needed to make progress in bridging substantive issues and drafting a constitutional reform that would be submitted to popular approval.
"On the fifth day (Friday), in line with the agreement, the delegations were expected to submit revisions to reflect the content of the discussions during the previous four days," said Pedersen.
Though all delegations offered "at least some revisions" to the texts to help compromise efforts, others "contained no changes," said the UN official.
The five days of talks involved both the regime and the opposition and took place at Geneva's Intercontinental Hotel, instead of at the Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the UN.
"I will do everything I can to bring closer viewpoints among the members through exerting my good offices, which is plainly needed," said Pedersen, vowing to engage with all sides in the talks.
When the last round of talks had ended on Oct. 22, Pedersen said: "Today's talks were a huge disappointment."
The Syrian Constitutional Committee consists of two structures, large and small.
The large structure includes all the committee members and consists of three groups: The regime, the umbrella opposition delegation, and civil society representatives.
Each group sends 15 people to the small body, which is responsible for writing the new constitution.
The large 150-person structure must approve the drafts prepared by the 45-person editorial board, and at least 75% of the members must support a decision for it to be adopted.
The Syrian civil war began when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people have since been killed and millions more displaced, according to UN estimates.
