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Head of Syrian government delegation confirms adoption of joint document with opposition

The document is entitled "The Assessment of the Situation in Syria"
Bashar al-Jaafari EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
Bashar al-Jaafari
© EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. Head of Syria’s government delegation at the inter-Syrian consultations in Moscow and Syria’s envoy to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari has confirmed the adoption of a joint document with the opposition following the meeting.

"Our evaluation of the consultations is positive," he said on Friday. "A delegation of the Syrian government and a delegation of the opposition were able to work out an important document titled "The Assessment of the Situation in Syria," he said.

The Russian moderator of the discussions, Vitaly Naumkin, said Syria’s government and the opposition managed to adopt a joint document of a political character during the consultations in Moscow.

"After a heated discussion between the opposition and the government, the sides managed for the first time to unanimously adopt a document of a political character," said Naumkin, who is the director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"I would call it a Moscow platform," he said.

The document includes provisions on resolving the Syrian crisis based on the principles of the June 30, 2012 Geneva Communique and the UN Security Council resolution on the fight against terrorism.

It envisages lifting all the restrictive economic measures against the Syrian people and the assistance of the international community in returning the refugees back home, and also declares that the inter-Syrian dialogue without foreign interference is the only way to resolve the crisis peacefully.

The document was agreed upon during the start of the consultations between the opposition groups. "It is indicative that the opposition has managed to agree in Moscow," he stressed. "At the same time, many abstained [among the opposition]," he added.

Earlier on Friday, the representatives of the Syrian opposition told a press conference that they failed to agree with the Syrian government’s delegation on all the points of the joint document under consideration.

Moscow venue - groundwork for new inter-Syrian meetings

The Moscow venue is a groundwork for new inter-Syrian meetings, moderator of the inter-Syrian consultations, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Vitaly Naumkin said on Friday.

"This is groundwork for future meetings wherever they may be held. The work done at the Moscow meeting cannot be ignored by anyone," he said.

"There can be certain disappointment, as not all issues have been agreed," he noted. "But we’ve achieved fairly serious results."

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