11 Feb 2021; MEMO: Five current and former European members of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday said they held the Syrian regime responsible for the Syrian Constitutional Committee's failure to achieve a substantive progress in the negotiations that have been taking place for over a year.
Estonia, France, Ireland, Belgium and Germany said in a joint statement following a Security Council briefing that the Syrian regime continues to obstruct the negotiations and refuses to constructively engage with the proposals submitted by the UN special envoy and the Syrian opposition.
"Unfortunately, despite five rounds of discussions over the past year and a half, we regret that no substantial progress has been made at these meetings towards the drafting of a constitutional reform in line with Security Council Resolution 2254," the statement said.
It added that until now there is no scheduled date for a next meeting, quoting the special envoy as saying that things "cannot continue like this".
"The Syrian regime must genuinely engage in a credible political process," it added.
The five countries stressed that they fully support the special envoy's efforts to implement all elements of Resolution 2254, including the release of detainees, as well as the organisation of free, fair and transparent elections, under UN supervision, with the participation of all Syrians at home and in the diaspora.
