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Humanitarian aid, release of prisoners critical for ongoing Syrian talks: Syrian opposition

Xinhua, March 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Syrian opposition delegate Bassma Kodmani told press on Tuesday following a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura that the issue of humanitarian aid and the release of detainees needed to be addressed so that talks could progress in earnest.

"We had a one-hour or so meeting with de Mistura, our full delegation was present. This was a constructive meeting," said Kodmani.

Among the main concerns raised by the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC), the umbrella group for Syrian opposition factions, was the delivery of aid to both the cities of Darayya and Al-Waer.

She also mentioned the release of prisoners, a point brought up by de Mistura who said no outcome had emerged on this sensitive topic.

"We have no results at all on that issue. This is a major confidence-building measure, it is an obligation for the regime to implement it. It is not up for negotiations. We are waiting to see a mechanism that will start addressing effectively the issue of detainees," Kodmani iterated.

"It is not an issue that can be treated today, in a week, a month or six months, given that we estimate that there are daily executions of some 50 detainees in the different prisons of Syria," she added.

The delegate also mentioned that the HNC had handed a document to de Mistura outlining a set of general principles which she hoped would guide the transitional process.

"The vision that the HNC has put forward is a starting point for a discussion that we would like to take into more detail in the following sessions that we will have."

The HNC's counterpart, the Syrian government delegation headed by Bashar al-Jafaari, had also submitted a document outlining the basic elements for a political solution to the special envoy on March 14, the first day of the latest round of talks seeking to broker a political solution for the country at war since 2011.

De Mistura is scheduled to meet again with the Syrian government delegation on March 16 in the morning. Endit