MOSCOW, Russia—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the UN-brokered Geneva talks have been postponed to the end of February, initially planned to take place on February 8, as he met with some Syrian political opposition groups in Moscow on Friday, including the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), and representatives of the autonomous region in northern Syria, Rojava.
“This date has been again put off from February 8 until the end of next month,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov stressed the importance of the Russian draft constitution for a future Syria, emphasizing it does not want to impose it on the country.
He said that the Monday talks in Astana proved that there is no military solution for the Syria’s six-year civil war that has claimed about half a million lives, according to some estimates.
He added that it is not acceptable for the Syrians—regime and opposition parties—to avoid talks aimed at seeking a political solution, in reference to the long-delayed Geneva talks that did not take place for months.
Russia presented a draft constitution to the Syrian regime and the opposition in Astana, Lavrov said, stressing that it is a suggestion from the Russian side, but ultimately it should be the Syrians who discuss and decide on it.
"The draft constitution attempts to bring together and find shared points in those approaches that were outlined to us both by representatives of the government and representatives of the opposition, including all those present here, over the past several years," Lavrov said.
The Russian-proposed draft of the Syrian constitution falls short of mentioning federalism as a system of governance in the war-torn country, but hints at larger cultural and administrative freedoms within a decentralized Syria.
The ruling Kurdish PYD in northern Syria announced on Thursday that it will attend the Moscow meeting, after it received an official invitation from Moscow.
The PYD was not invited to the Astana talks. Turkey has labelled them as a terrorist organizations with ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The High Negotiations Committee, a Syrian opposition group founded in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, to take part in the Geneva talks, refused to attend Friday's meeting, although it was invited, Lavrov said, adding that the National Coalition also refused to attend the meeting.
Russia, Iran, and Turkey hosted talks with Syrian opposition groups and the regime earlier this week in Astana. After the two days of meetings, the organizers stated that they would coordinate to monitor a ceasefire in the country.
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