(Zaman Al Wasl)- Representative of the Syrian Turkmen Council in the opposition's National Coalition said his bloc will boycott the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Russia’s Sochi at the end of January, in contrary to previous report published by Zaman al-Wasl.
Mohamed al-Shemali assured that the Turkmen Council is abide by the Coalition's decision to boycott the congress, saying no official or personal invitation was received by any Turkmen member in the key opposition group.
Sources told Zaman al-Wasl on Wednesday that the Turkmen bloc is due to participate in Sochi what contradicts with Coalition's efforts to undermine the Russian push to keep Bashar al-Assad in power through the Dialogue Congress.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said last week it is preparing the list of participants at the Dialogue Congress. As per new boundaries set by the ministry, the Syrian opposition must set aside the notion of removing al-Assad from office in order to participate at the congress.
The ministry also said that they will not allow Sochi to become an arena pro-Assad leaving. Continuation of the former only supports the opposition’s desire to continue an armed conflict, the ministry added.
The ministry also reaffirmed UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s invitation to the congress while noting the possibility of the US’s participation, but only as an observer.
In a statement posted online last week, 40 moderate and Islamist groups said Russia seeks to keep al-Assad in power, ignoring Geneva resolutions over Syria and the principles of the revolution that erupted almost seven years ago to overthrow Damascus dictator as well to retain freedom and dignity to the Syrian people.
A roadmap for a transition in Syria outlined in a UN Security Council resolution adopted in December 2015 calls for a Syrian-led political process facilitated by the United Nations which would establish "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance" within six months and set up a schedule and process for the drafting of a new constitution to be followed by UN-supervised elections.
Zaman A Wasl
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