BEIRUT, February 16. /TASS/. The international meeting on Syrian reconciliation in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi will pave the way for overcoming obstacles for the Syrian Constitutional Committee’s work, Lebanese analyst Nidal Sabi, a leading expert on the Syrian dossier, told TASS on Tuesday.
"The committee, tasked with developing a new constitution, is the only instrument for political settlement in Syria on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254," he said. "That is why Russia and its partners will seek to give the necessary impetus to its work and will try to overcome differences between the delegations of the government and the opposition regarding priorities of the agenda."
Besides, the expert believes that the meeting of the Syrian ceasefire guarantor nations in Sochi will help to develop the strategy of countering terrorism in Syria.
"Enhancing stability is an important aspect, considering that presidential elections are scheduled for 2021," he said.
According to Sabi, during the talks, the sides are likely to discuss joint measures to ensure ceasefire along the M-4 highway that crosses the entire country from west to east.
In the expert’s opinion, international confidence in Turkey noticeably declined after Ankara had failed to disarm extremist groups, operating in the Idlib zone.
"It is evident that Ankara has its own agenda in Syria," he said. "This is confirmed by a close link between the Turkish intelligence and Syrian opposition groups, who send drones to attack the Russian base in Hmeymim."
The Lebanese expert went on to say that Turkey also continues to deploy Syrian mercenaries in Libya.
"They do this at the time when efforts to reunite the country and end the military confrontation between Tripoli and Benghazi are being made on the Libyan arena," he added. "There are many questions regarding Ankara’s policies in the Middle East."
According to Sabi, engaging some of the leading Arab nations - Egypt, Saudi Arabai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - is a priority at the current stage of the Syrian peace process, because, in his opinion, it would help to create "the necessary regional balance."
"Restored ties between Damascus and Arab nations are important for achieving peace and national accord in Syria, for carrying out post-war reconstruction and for defeating terrorism completely," he said.
The 15th international Astana-format meeting on Syria is being held in Sochi on February 16-17.