Ex-Syrian Minister: Geneva Talks May Not Produce Results If Supports for Terrorists Continue

Former Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhalallah welcomed consultations on the country’s crisis hosted by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, but said the meetings will yield no results without a halt to certain countries’ supports for the terrorist groups.
“These consultations will be successful if those regional states which support the terrorists in Syria agree to stop the attack and practically accept a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” Dakhalallah told FNA on Tuesday.

He described the terrorist groups and their acts as the main problem in Syria, and said, “If the terrorist attacks don’t stop immediately, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s consultations in Geneva will be fruitless.”

Dakhalallah, meantime, said that “a half of loaf is better than none”, and underlined that under such conditions that all efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis have been frozen, such consultations can lay pressure on those states which support terrorism in Syria.

His remarks came after the UN chief’s spokesman announced on Monday that the United Nations envoy on Syria had noted recent decisions taken by the National Coalition of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SOC) and is looking forward to the arrival of the National Coalition’s envoy in Geneva, where UN facilitated consultations are taking place.

Briefing journalists in New York, Farhan Haq, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said that de Mistura was interested in receiving the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s point of view on the Geneva Consultations.

“This is the whole purpose of the exercise,” said Haq.

The Spokesman added that de Mistura remains appreciative of ongoing efforts by the Coalition to contribute to a long overdue peaceful solution in Syria.

“The Geneva consultations are a rolling process to seek views of all Syrian and relevant regional and international parties on the operationalization of the Geneva Communiqué,” said Haq.

The Communiqué was adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012, and since endorsed by the UN Security Council. It lays out key steps in a process to end the violence.

“In this context, Mr. de Mistura continues to meet separately with all Syrian actors from inside and outside Syria. He looks forward to the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s engagement in this process,” the spokesman added.