Baladi News - Journals
The UN envoy for Syria on Monday signalled that he was ready to abandon efforts to set up a committee on drafting a post-war constitution if no deal is reached by the end of December.
The planned constitutional committee agreed at a Russia-hosted conference in January has run into objections from the Syrian government over allowing religious leaders, representatives from women's groups and independent experts to take part.
The centerpiece of UN peace efforts in Syria, the committee would be tasked with negotiating a new post-war constitution that would pave the way to elections aimed at turning the page on seven years of devastating war.
"We are in the last days of the attempts to implement the constitutional committee," envoy Staffan de Mistura told a Security Council meeting on the Syria crisis.
"We may have to conclude that (it) may not be possible to form a constitutional committee, credible and inclusive, at this stage," said the envoy, speaking by videoconference from Geneva.
"In such an unfortunate case, I will certainly be ready to explain to the council why," he warned.
The leaders of Russia, Turkey, Germany and France have called for the committee to be formed by the end of the year.
Source: The Daily Mail Online