Geneva 2 conference on Syria likely to be held November 23-24

The Geneva 2 conference on the Syrian conflict settlement will be held tentatively on November 23-24, the head of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation of Syria, who is the country’s vice prime minister, Qadri Jamil, said on Thursday. “On November 23-24,” he said, answering a question about the possible forum’s rescheduling to late November - early December. Syria has never been closer the Geneva 2, a conference on conflict resolution in the country, as Deputy Prime Minister of Syria one of the leaders of the ‘internal’ opposition Qadri Jamil told at a news conference in Moscow. He said that at the conference in Geneva will gather representatives of the main political opposition forces and the authorities. “There is no other option but to organize the conference. Chances for holding the conference are great,” he stressed. "During today's meeting at the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation, we discussed the approximate, yet hypothetical dates of the conference," he said. Jamil stressed that the Geneva 2 was the only way to resolve the conflict. “Regardless of whether this conference will be held in the expected time frame, the Geneva 2 is a platform for dialogue, for mutual understanding," he said. He also recalled that the main objective of the conference was to create a coalition government that would reflect the real balance of power in Syria. “The government should be established on the basis of consensus and reflect the proportion of different political forces in Syria. The scope of government’s authority, the amount of president’s powers is to be determined in Geneva,” he added, when asked how he sees the new government, which is supposed to be created at the conference. Jamil said that this path through the formation of a coalition government and holding elections would be a democratic way out of the current crisis. At the same time, the support of only one party, as it is done by some Western countries, will lead to the establishment of one-party dictatorships, or lead to power religious extremists. “In Syria, we abolished the article of the constitution, which establishes the primacy of one political force in public life. I am surprised that the West, which usually calls for freedom and democracy, currently contributes, in fact, to the establishment of a one-party system in Syria,” Jamil added.