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Following a round of talks in Geneva, Russia says the three guarantor states\u00a0of the Syria peace process have reached a consensus with the United Nations on candidates for the country\u2019s constitutional committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Russian President\u2019s Special Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told reporters in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday that representatives of Iran, Russia and Turkey had met the UN envoy and \u201cagreed in principal\u201d on the two lists of candidates for Syria\u2019s constitutional body.<\/p>\n\n \u201cWe are moving on and we have made some progress. We have agreed in principal on the first two lists [of candidates for the Syrian constitutional committee] - one from the government and the other one from the opposition. Of course these two lists will require final approval by the representatives of the three guarantor states and Mr. Staffan de Mistura, after the final third list from the so-called civil society has been agreed on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n Lavrentyev also noted that a technical commission will be set up to accelerate the process of approving candidates for the constitutional committee.<\/p>\n\n \u201cWe need to speed up the process a bit, and for that purpose we have decided to create a technical group of experts, who will study all these questions and agree on certain names [of candidates from the civil society list] that would be acceptable for both the government and opposition,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The official further expressed hope that representatives of the three guarantor states could hold another meeting in Geneva within a month, stressing that the Russian delegation will continue consultations with the Iranian and Turkish partners.<\/p>\n\n \u201cIt is very important for us to ensure successful work of the Constitutional Committee so that it could yield visible results,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The Syrian government, Lavrentyev pointed out, \u201cdemonstrates readiness to help form the constitutional committee and launch its productive work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Additionally, the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the fresh agreement in the Geneva meeting on Syria\u2019s constitutional committee.<\/p>\n\n \u201cDuring the meeting, they discussed the formation of a constitutional committee and its codes of practice which constitute an important step in the struggle of finding a political solution to the\u00a0Syrian\u00a0crisis,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n It added that meetings between the three guarantors of the Astana peace process for Syria will continue.<\/p>\n\n Tehran, Moscow and Ankara have recently stepped up their diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syria crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n
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