GENEVA, March 17. /TASS/. The Syrian opposition delegation formed after meetings in Moscow and Cairo has presented to UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura a document containing seven principles of political transition in the country, one of the group leaders at intra-Syrian talks in Geneva Qadri Jamil said.
"We had a meeting with de Mistura and presented a document with seven principles of political transition in Syria," Jamil said. "This refers to proposals on a new constitution, elections and governing body."
The document published by the group says that after talks the sides should reach an agreement on setting up a transitional governing body and details of its creation and activity are to be defined during the discussion.
The sides also need to agree on major principles that will serve as a basis for Syria’s constitution. A constitutional declaration will be adopted before drafting the country’s key law.
The text says that presidential and parliamentary elections should be held in Syria at the end of transition period in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2252 as this is needed for switching to the presidential-parliamentary republic.
"Participants of talks should agree that Syria is a presidential-parliamentary pluralistic secular republic where the center ensures the periphery with everything needed based on the agreements reached in line with expanded administrative decentralization," the document reads.
The proposals also stress that when setting up a transitional governing body the sides need to be guided by the principle of "equal representation and common consent."
The key goal of the transitional governing body and the institutions created by it should be to complete the tasks of national reconciliation, including solving issues in the humanitarian area and post-war reconstruction.
One of the group leaders, Jihad Makdissi, also said the Moscow-Cairo group does not compete with the group formed in Riyadh for a leading role at peace talks in Geneva.
"An excellent delegation was formed at a meeting in Riyadh," he said. "We do not compete with them. We are components in the cause of settlement in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254."
The Moscow-Cairo delegation became the first participant of talks in Geneva to have unveiled the principles of political transition. The delegations of the Syrian government and Syria’s opposition High Negotiations Committee have also prepared the respective documents but have presented them only to de Mistura.