The Syrian opposition called on Sunday June 4 for the resumption of talks with the regime of Bashar Al-Assad under the aegis of the UN, following the return of Damascus to Arab rule after years of isolation. "The international, regional contexts" and the situation in Syria "are conducive to the resumption of direct negotiations (...) within the framework of a specific program and timetable", estimated in a press release the high committee of the negotiations. (HCN) which brings together the main representatives of the opposition to the Syrian regime.
Negotiations aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis have stalled since the adoption in 2015 of UN Security Council resolution 2254, providing, among other things, for a new constitution and elections. At the end of a two-day meeting in Geneva, the HCN called "to support the efforts of the United Nations" to take the necessary steps towards a "comprehensive political solution", in accordance with this resolution of the UN.
In a regional context of diplomatic rapprochement, the Arab League reintegrated the Syrian regime in May, ostracized since 2011 due to the repression, the same year, of the popular uprising triggered in the wake of the "Arab Springs" and which degenerated into war. civil. Involving regional and international actors, the conflict claimed around half a million lives.
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Since then, the Syrian opposition has lost much of its influence and the support it enjoyed from countries in the region. Saudi Arabia, which had supported Syrian rebel groups at the start of the conflict, has reestablished its ties with Damascus. Turkey, the main backer of rebels controlling parts of northern Syria, has also shown signs of rapprochement with Mr. Assad. The HCN considered that the reintegration of the regime into the Arab fold carried "the risk" that the regime would reject any political solution.
On May 19, the Arab Summit, attended by President Assad, stressed the "need to take effective and efficient measures to achieve a settlement" of the conflict in Syria. In a speech to the Security Council in late May, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen said the "new diplomatic activity" in the region since April "could represent a opportunity if seized".
