No agreement on first day of Syria constitution committee talks
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Damascus government delegates to a Syrian Constitutional Committee left the second U.N.-sponsored round before it began on Monday, in what opposition members said was a stalling tactic, and it was unclear whether talks would take place on Tuesday.
Syrian television reported that the government delegation left the United Nations in Geneva on Monday because they did not get answers to their proposal to specify a work schedule.
The talks are meant to be a step forward in what the United Nations says will be a long road to political rapprochement, followed by elections.
U.N. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen met the two co-chairs from the government and opposition sides and was continuing his consultations with a view to the panel’s resumption, a U.N. spokeswoman said.
“The situation is clearly blocked,” a Western diplomat said.
Forty-five delegates who form the committee’ drafting group arrived at the U.N. European headquarters on Monday.
The group is made up of 15 members each from the government, opposition and civil society but they did not meet together.
“The Constitutional Committee of today was not held. And the reason is there is no agreement on the programme or the schedule to be discussed for the meeting,” Yahya al-Aridi, a Syrian opposition spokesman, told reporters upon leaving.
