Mouallem: Coalition Delegation should Abandon Illusions before Returning to Geneva

Geneva,(ST)_ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Waleed al-Mouallem, who is also Head of the Syrian delegation to Geneva conference stressed that the Syrian side rejected a U.S. request in Montreux to dialogue directly with the Syrian coalition delegation , the so-called opposition unless U.S. Secretary of State , John Kerry, apologizes for what he said in his speech at the opening of the conference .

In remarks to the media delegation accompanying the official delegation on board the plane to Damascus, Mouallem said in response to a question about the coalition delegation refusal of the paper presented by the Syrian official delegation to condemn terrorism ” it is not surprising that they rejected the paper “.
In response to a question about the unjust sanctions imposed on the Syrian people, Mouallem said that “We are dealing with an international community that is mostly unfair .. doubled- standards and dominated by the United States .

Responding to a question about the concentration of the coalition delegation on the topic of presidency transition , he said: ” We are in a country of Constitution , institutions ,government , a parliament and a President of the Republic and we will not accept anything that is contrary to our Constitution , which won a majority of the people .”

On the non-participation of Iran in the conference he said that , ” the UN failed in not inviting Iran to Montreux conference and the components of the national opposition and the bodies of civil society , as stated in Geneva document “.

On the powers of the interim government Mouallem added , ” If the other party holds illusions that the transitional governing body or the next government will limit the powers of the president , in contrast with the current constitution , this is an illusion that they should abandon before they came to Geneva .”

On whether the Syrian delegation held side meetings ,al-Mouallem explained , ” It is important to note that in the Syrian diplomacy , unannounced meetings are not conducted and we do not work under the table with any party whatsoever .”

T. Fateh