After 12 years of a devastating war that broke out in 2011, the political and military opposition no longer enjoys the same momentum it did during the first years of the conflict.
On Sunday, the Syrian opposition negotiating committee called for the resumption of direct negotiations with the regime under the auspices of the United Nations, in light of the political changes represented by the return of Damascus to the Arab fold after 12 years of isolation.
After a meeting in Geneva, the Negotiation Commission for the Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which includes representatives of the opposition, headed by the Syrian National Coalition, called on “brotherly and friendly countries to support the efforts of the United Nations to take all necessary decisions to implement a comprehensive political solution in accordance with the operative part of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.” Issued in 2015, which defines an international roadmap to reach a political solution.
The negotiating committee, which formed the main opposition delegation during several rounds of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, considered that “the active movement regarding the Syrian issue provides a suitable circumstance for the resumption of direct negotiations” based on the UN resolution “and according to a specific agenda and timetable.”
Since the first years of the conflict, the United Nations played the role of mediator between the government and the opposition, leading several rounds of negotiations, most of which took place in Geneva, the last of which took place in 2018. All of them hit a dead end in light of the opposition’s demand for a political transition without Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Damascus’ insistence not to discuss his future.
After the failure of negotiations between the two parties, the efforts of the United Nations focused on holding talks to draft a new constitution, but they also did not achieve any progress.
During the first years of the conflict, including the rounds of negotiations, the Syrian opposition received support from several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, but this support gradually declined with the stagnation of the political process and the change of field equations in favor of Damascus.
After 12 years of a devastating war that broke out in 2011, the political and military opposition no longer enjoys the same momentum it enjoyed during the first years of the conflict.
More than a decade after Arab countries cut ties with Damascus following the outbreak of the conflict, the League of Arab States announced last month that Damascus would return to its seat nearly 12 years after it suspended its membership.
And Saudi Arabia, in which the Syrian opposition took their headquarters, resumed its relationship with Damascus. Al-Assad’s participation last month in the Arab Summit in Jeddah culminated in breaking Damascus’ regional isolation.
Today, according to several statements issued by them, the Arab countries are looking forward to playing a “leading” role in reaching a political settlement to the conflict.
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, considered that “renewed diplomatic activity in the region – if it is seized – could constitute an opportunity and a shift in efforts to search for a political solution in Syria.”
Arab openness and the efforts of Ankara, the opposition’s most prominent supporter, to rapprochement with Damascus limit the opposition’s ability to impose conditions and achieve a breach in its favor in any future negotiations.
The negotiating committee considered that the regime’s return to the Arab League might make it “refuse to proceed with the political solution.”
