Geneva II: Syria Official Delegation Insists on Tackling Counterterrorism

Rasa - Syria's official delegation has managed to put counterterrorism on the agenda as stated by Geneva communiqué during a joint session concluded on Wednesday afternoon between Syria’s official delegation and the coalition delegation, in the presence of the UN envoy to Syria Lakhdar BGeneva IIrahimi.

News ID: 623

Date: 12 February 2014 - 22:05

Rasa News Agency reports - The Syrian Arab Republic delegation stressed that no item can be tackled before finishing the discussion of counterterrorism and reaching agreement on the articles of the project for implementing the communiqué.

The official delegation said in compliance with the Syrian people’s aspirations for restoring security, safety and stability, it called on everyone to assume their responsibility and take a strong unified stand against terrorism.

The official delegation asserted that the Syrian people will not accept any political solution that doesn’t “heal its wounds” and restore tranquility and safety to them, which is why the delegation insisted on discussing counterterrorism in accordance with the first Geneva communiqué.

The official delegation noted that the other side put forth the issue of transitional government, noting that putting forth an issue doesn’t mean discussing them, and that the official delegation listened to what the other side had to say but the discussions began with the issue of terrorism.

The delegation noted that there’s still no agreed-upon agenda, as anything that comes out of Geneva 2 must be reached via accord.

The official delegation said that talk of discussing in parallel both counterterrorism and the expanded government as some proposed is an ineffectual and impractical proposition that doesn’t achieve the desired accord.

The delegation said that it resubmitted the draft statement on counterterrorism which it presented during the first round of talks, and that the delegation is open to discussing its articles.

The official delegation added that they also responded to the fallacies put forth by the other side on Tuesday, debunking them with documents, figures and data which showcase the crimes of terrorists and their destroying of infrastructure in Syria.

The Syrian delegation called upon the other side to rise up to the high national standards of the Syrian people in regards to combating terrorism, because Syrians want to know if the other side actually wants to fight terrorism or wants to maintain its current policy.

Sources close to Syria’s official delegation said that the coalition delegation tried to start the discussions with the transitional body without approving any item of counterterrorism, but Syria’s official delegation insisted on the item of counterterrorism first.