Russia is undermining the UN mandated agreement aimed at ending the Syrian war by hosting a national dialogue, the spokesman for the Syrian opposition told The National.
Moscow is hosting a congress in the Black Sea resort of Sochi aimed at consolidating its influence in the region and hammering out a path to end the brutal conflict.
Yahya Al Aridi said that Russia is only focusing on some of the elements of UN resolution 2254 aimed at outlining a road map for peace in Syria, while ignoring others.
“The goals, agenda and the people attending Sochi…are easily suspected,” he said.
For the opposition, president Vladimir Putin has invited 1,600 people to the talks to “take a picture and present it to the world to show them that Moscow has gathered the Syrians to reconcile and to bring peace.”
Mr Al Aridi accused Russia of having unrealistic expectations. A successful dialogue, he said, cannot be achieved over the space of two days with a large number of people attending.
“If a huge number of people are to meet for seven hours, a dialogue cannot be built,” he said.
However, Mr Putin is desperate to jumpstart a political process in Syria, with ISIL loosing most of its territory and Russian presidential elections scheduled for March.
The opposition announced their boycott on Saturday.
“We feel that it’s not the way for bringing peace for Syria, although the UN and other states are invited, this is not the way,” he said.
Instead Mr Al Aridi stressed that Russia must focus its efforts on pressuring the regime to commit to implementing UN Resolution 2254.
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Read more:
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Moscow said on Monday that the absence of the Syrian opposition will not hinder the two-day peace talks.
"The fact that some representatives of the processes currently ongoing in Syria are not participating is unlikely to stop this congress from going ahead and cannot seriously sabotage it," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The opposition blames the Syrian regime and its Russian backer of relying on military means without showing willingness to enter into honest talks.
The solution to ending Syria’s devastating seven-year war requires Russia to bring the Damascus regime to the negotiations table “to sign a paper that will lead to the removal for those who have committed crimes in Syria.”
Military means have not resulted in any progress in Syria, Mr Al Aridi said. “The implementation of UNSC resolution, starting with the Geneva communique 2254 which talks about creating a constitutional and electoral procedure,” is the only way to achieving peace.
Additionally, anyone who stands for elections “should prove that they haven’t committed any crimes, we believe that those who have blood on their hands or participated in crime are not eligible for standing up as candidates.”
A peaceful political process will “require a good international will to implement UN resolutions aimed at ending this saga,” he said.
The continuance of Bashar Al Assad’s regime is the best prescription for “tension, displacement of people, destruction and killing of people,” added Mr Al Aridi.
The war has now left more than 340,000 people dead.
Mr Al Aridi pointed out that there are certain “states who take a negative stance towards the reconstruction of Syria as long as this particular regime is in power.”
Meanwhile, an ongoing Turkish offensive in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin has further overshadowed the Syrian National dialogue.
“We understand the Turkish position for its Afrin operation, that they PYD and PYG are a threat to its national security.”
At the same time the opposition opposes “any foreign power on the Syrian land starting with the militias of Hezbollah who came to the rescue of the brutal dictatorship,” Mr Al Aridi said.
However, there is a big difference between what Iran is doing and what Turkey is doing in Syria.
“Iran has been behind the death of thousands of Syrians as well as being a spoiler of the so called de-escalation zone,” said Mr Al Aridi in reference to the separate Syria peace talks held in the Kazakh capital of Astana between rebel-backed Turkey and regime allies Russia and Iran. The talks led to the establishment of the so-called "de-escalation zones" — areas in Syria where fighting between regime forces and rebels should have ceased.
Although Iran is a guarantor of the Astana agreement “it is behind the breaching that is taking place in those zones on a daily basis,” he said.
Company%20Profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Griselda
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
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RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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