Lakhdar Brahimi called NCC President Hassan Abdel-Azim yesterday to convey his “deep regrets’ but said he respected the decision.
The conference will seek to achieve a comprehensive agreement between the Syrian Government and the opposition for fully implementing the decision of an earlier Geneva conference in June 2012, which called for the creation of a transitional government to hold elections.
Well over 100,000 people have been killed and more than 8 million others driven from their homes since the conflict erupted in March 2011 between the Government and various groups seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
The UN has sent out invitations to the conference to more than 30 States, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as to representatives of the Arab League, the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
In a statement issued by a UN spokesperson today, Mr. Brahimi said he told Dr. Abdel-Azim “he respects the decision of the NCC but deeply regrets that NCC will not be part of the delegation of the Opposition which will discuss in Geneva how the terrible war now raging in Syria must be brought to an end.”
He added that he is familiar with the work of the NCC and its members in support of democracy, and the freedom and dignity of the Syrian people, mentioning in particular two if its members who have disappeared.
There has been no information about Abdel Aziz al-Khair since he was arrested or kidnapped in September 2012 on the road from the airport to Damascus, while Rajaa Al-Nasser was arrested or disappeared in broad daylight in the centre of Damascus on 20 November 2013.
“Mr. Brahimi wishes the NCC well, and is confident they will continue to work for the return of peace to their country, and the advent of the new and democratic Syria,” the statement concluded.
un.org
16/1/14
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Related:
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The list of representatives of the Syrian opposition to take part in the Geneva-2 international conference should not be narrowed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, the Voice of Russia correspondent Ksenya Melnikova reports.
"Geneva-2's success may be secured due to the presence of goodwill of all those who presume that the audience should be representative. This concerns the Syrian parties, primarily the opposition, because we are really concerned about attempts to narrow this spectrum of the opposition forces to be represented in Geneva-2. But representation is also important when it comes to the list of the foreign players," Lavrov said at a press conference following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
Voice of Russia
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_01_16/Syrias-representation-in-Geneva-2-should-not-be-narrowed-Lavrov-7507/
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- Kerry urges Syrian opposition to attend peace talks
The main umbrella opposition body in exile, known as the Syrian National Coalition, is rife with internal divisions and is expected to decide on Friday whether to send representatives to the peace conference in Montreux, Switzerland.
Voice of Russia, Reuters
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_01_17/Kerry-urges-Syrian-opposition-to-attend-peace-talks-6590/
17/1/14
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Kerry urges Syrian opposition to attend peace talks...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged members of the Syrian opposition to decide in favor of attending next week's peace talks in Switzerland when they vote on the question on Friday.
The main umbrella opposition body in exile, known as the Syrian National Coalition, is rife with internal divisions and is expected to decide on Friday whether to send representatives to the peace conference in Montreux, Switzerland.
(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-syria-crisis-kerry-opposition-idUSBREA0F1JV20140116?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
16/1/14