Russia's Vershinin, UN Special Envoy discuss Syria on UNGA sidelines

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Sep 2023 20:48
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Geir Pedersen outlines his initiative point by point alongside holding contacts with stakeholders and mentioning the upcoming September 27 UN Security Council briefing on Syria.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin leaves after talks on the Black Sea Grain Initiative at the United Nations in Geneva, on March 13, 2023. (AFP)

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen held talks regarding the crisis settlement in Syria on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

"A broad discussion took place of a wide spectrum of questions concerning the process of Syrian crisis settlement falling under the mandate of the UN special representative in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254," the Ministry statement read.

It added that resuming the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee was highly noted "within the framework of a political process led and implemented by Syrians, with the support of the United Nations, without external involvement, and based on the respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria."

According to the Russian Ministry, Pedersen outlined his initiative point by point alongside holding contacts with stakeholders and mentioning the upcoming September 27 UN Security Council briefing on Syria.

On September 10, Geir Pedersen met in Damascus with Syrian FM Faisal Mekdad and other officials.

Mekdad discussed with Pedersen and the accompanying delegation the latest developments pertaining to his mission in Syria, an official Syrian statement said.

Mekdad highlighted the major challenges facing Syria and the catastrophic impact that terrorism has left on the country. He also highlighted the “illegal” presence of US and Turkish forces on Syrian territory, according to the statement.

Earlier, in August, Pedersen, at the Security Council meeting, expressed concern about the economic situation in Syria.

“The tragic reality is that, for as long as violent conflict continues, and the political process is blocked, the suffering of the Syrian people will simply get worse. Syria cannot fix its economy while it is in a state of conflict. And this applies to the many other crises that ravage Syria,” he said then.

He stressed that moving toward implementing Security Council resolution 2254 is the only way to begin addressing the many crises afflicting Syria.