The Syrian National Dialogue Conference begins today in Sochi »

Affiliated – INA Syrian delegations participating in the Syrian National Dialogue Conference flocked to the Russian city of Sochi, today, Monday, amid a festive reception atmosphere at the airport of the city located on the Black Sea. The Syrian National Dialogue Conference will begin in Sochi this afternoon, which is considered one of the most ambitious events in recent years to resolve the crisis in Syria. The delegations participating in this national conference are diverse, according to the diversity of the components in Syria and their trends, including representatives of the ruling Baath Party, Civil society, unions and the internal opposition. The main task before the conference participants is to launch a constitutional committee that can continue its work on preparing a new constitution for the country under the auspices of the United Nations. More than 1,600 people are expected to participate in the conference, representing various political, ethnic, and sectarian groups in Syria. Representatives of the Syrian government confirmed their participation, which will reach 680 people, and 400 others representing the internal political opposition in the country. In addition, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretariat, as well as Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Kazakhstan were invited to attend the conference as observers. Among the participants in the Sochi meeting were Russia, Iran, and Turkey as guarantor countries of the Astana agreements regarding the ceasefire in Syria. The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, confirmed his intention to participate in the Sochi conference. The Syrian National Dialogue Conference is considered the first conference of its kind since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, whether in terms of the number of broad spectrums participating in it, the number of invitees in general, or the diversity and complexity of their trends and affiliations, in the first attempt to bring together such a broad group in one negotiating platform. The dialogue conference will be held in Sochi a few days after the end of the special meeting between the Syrians in Vienna. The main meetings of the conference – the plenary session and the gala dinner – are expected to be held in Sochi on Tuesday. 510 journalists from 27 countries, correspondents of 125 foreign and 52 Russian newspapers are participating in the media coverage of this huge conference, and its activities are covered by 78 television stations, 38 news agencies, 8 radio stations, 31 newspapers, 21 websites and electronic newspapers. Source: Agencies