NUR-SULTAN, June 16. /TASS/: Russia proposed to move the Syrian Constitutional Committee meetings to Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Manama, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said during a press conference after the 18th Astana Format meeting on Syria.
"I believe it is too early to speak about specific achieved agreements on this issue. We have outlined our position. We also outlined it before [UN Special Envoy on Syria Geir] Pedersen and other stakeholders that accompany the Committee’s operation, those being Turkey and Iran," he said.
"For us as the Russian delegation, the accompanying of the Committee’s operation on the Geneva platform becomes increasingly onerous due to Switzerland’s unfriendly, and even hostile position towards Russia. So, we outlined the need to move the further operation of the Constitutional Committee to a more neutral platform. We proposed different options: Abu Dhabi and Muscat. Bahrain is also an option," Lavrentyev said.
The presidential envoy added that Algeria also expressed its readiness to host future sessions of the Constitutional Committee. He noted that "there is nothing wrong with next sessions taking place in a more favorable atmosphere" until Switzerland attempts to return to its neutral status, which it used to have until recently.
"There is also an option to [hold the meetings] in Nur-Sultan, we have outlined it as well. Everything will depend not only on the Russian side, which is ready to review this option, but on all other sides as well. We must find a consensus solution," Lavrentyev added.
