The Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue will be held on 29-30 January 2018 in Sochi, dedicated to resolving the situation in Syria and "promoting the Geneva process". As Askanews learns from the Russian side, the initiative "was initiated by Moscow, which maintains contact with both the government of Syria and a broad spectrum of opposition forces, and has a positive experience holding meetings between the warring parties. since 2015, with two rounds of inter-Syrian consultations ". Turkey and Iran, which are Russia's partners in maintaining the ceasefire in de-escalation zones, became co-organizers of the event. The special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, was invited to the Congress, as well as representatives of the United Kingdom, France, United States, China, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, China and Kazakhstan. Despite the active role of the three countries Russia, Turkey and Iran, their representatives, as well as the representatives of other foreign states and international organizations, participate in the Congress "only as observers" is announced from Moscow. But there will be “more than a thousand Syrians representing civil society, ethnic, religious and tribal groups, various political forces, including the government of the Republic, internal and foreign opposition, including the armed one. Such a large number of members contribute to the implementation of resolution no. 2254 of the United Nations Security Council, which calls for the inclusive nature of the negotiations between the government and the entire spectrum of opposition, political and ethno-denominational forces in Syria. The implementation of the principles established in this resolution is the main task of the Congress ”. His conduct is aimed at intensifying the search for a political solution to the conflict under the auspices of the United Nations and at promoting the post-conflict reconstruction of the country. As an addition to the Astana and Geneva formats, “it should help the negotiators in Geneva, where decisions on it will be made. Participation in the Congress of a wide range of public forces will help strengthen the trust of various groups in Syrian society in political decisions taken at a high political level. The main topics of discussion will be the preparation of a new Syrian constitution, the organization of general elections under the supervision of the United Nations, the solution of humanitarian problems, the development of the long-term global program of the country's rehabilitation. At the end of the demonstration two documents should be signed: a final communiqué prepared on the basis of the so-called "Naumkina document", and an appeal by the participants to the international community on the need to urgently address humanitarian issues, progress towards conflict resolution and restoration. the situation in Syria.
