Khaddam advises opposition to stop demanding President al-Assad’s departure

Member of the Executive Bureau of the National Coordination Committee Mounzer Khaddam has advised the Syrian external opposition delegation –formed in Riyadh- to stop demanding the departure of President Bashar al-Assad and to run against him in honest elections observed by the U.N.

The opposition figure said in his Facebook page that the next round of the talks to be held this month in Geneva must concentrate on the formations of the government and its power and the preparation of the constitution.

“The opposition can make progress in this issues. But if the opposition goes ahead with focusing on the departure of President al-Assad, it will achieve nothing,” Khaddam stressed.

He, in addition, indicated that the U.S Department of State –for the first time- praises the Syrian army’s role in confronting the ISIS and the al-Nusra Front [Jabhat al-Nusra] and holds al-Nusra Front and its allies responsible for the breach of the cease-fire in Aleppo and Idleb.

“This shift in the U.S policy must be taken into account by the negotiators,” he concluded.

In another development, a member of the internal opposition delegation to Geneva talks Mays Kerdi underlined the importance of direct talks between the government delegation and the opposition delegation to reach a solution to the crisis in Syria.

She hailed Russia’s efforts to resolve the crisis through political solution that preserve Syria’s future far away from foreign intervention, according to the Damascus-based al-Watan newspaper.

Add to that, Kerdi underscored the importance of the Kurds’ participation in the talks, saying “As a female delegation, we want to coordinate with the Kurdish women, who have remarkable activities.”

Last March, the Syrian government delegation, opposition delegation [formed in Riyadh] and several Syrian opposition figures from Cairo Group and Moscow group took part in the second round of talks in Geneva.

Basma Qaddour