"It is expected that the Committee will only be made up of Syrians that will deal with the issues regarding national reconciliation. Representatives of other countries, including the guarantor states of the Astana process, will not be included in the Committee, but they will be able to support the new body. Moreover, we expect them to do it," Haidar said in an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper published on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, a source in one of the delegations in Astana told Sputnik that the idea to create the National Reconciliation Committee would be reflected in the final declaration of the ongoing consultations on Syria in the capital of Kazakhstan. According to the source, the Committee will be formed out of "representatives of the Syrian authorities and local respected people, elder statesmen," and would focus on the domestic issues, including security, acting without anyone’s mediation.
Another source at the July 4-5 Astana talks told Sputnik that the Committee may take the form of a forum or a conference.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on June 30, that the fifth round of Astana talks on Syria will address, among other issues, the formation of a Syrian national reconciliation committee.
