German FM Gabriel Urges Syrian Opposition HNC to Contribute to Peace Process

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday called on Riyad Hijab, the general coordinator of the Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), to contribute to the political process in the crisis-torn Asian country.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Gabriel and Hijab held a meeting and discussed a number of issues related to the Syrian conflict.

"Today we had an important conversation with Riyad Hijab in a crucial phase of the political process. I extremely welcome the attempt of UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to accelerate the process. I asked Riyad Hijab to contribute [to the process] in a constructive and active way," Gabriel said, as quoted by the German Foreign Ministry's press service.

The minister added that the recent round of Geneva talks showed that it was important for the Syrian opposition to be united at the negotiations.

The parties to the ongoing Syrian civil war have made a number of attempts brokered by the international community to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The representatives of both Syrian government and opposition groups have participated in a number of rounds of intra-Syria talks in cities like Geneva and Astana.