diplomacy
Secret talks in Berlin: Syrians are looking for a way out of the civil war
Prince Mulham al-Shibli from the Fawara tribe in Syria signing the “Code of Conduct for Syrian Coexistence”, assisted by German-Syrian constitutional lawyer Naseef Naeem. Photo: -/Council of the Syrian Charter/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Civil war has been raging in Syria for almost eleven years – with devastating consequences for the people. Now a group of influential compatriots is making a new attempt to stop the killing.
A group of influential Syrians met in Berlin for secret talks to discuss ways out of the long-standing conflict in their homeland.
The participants in the two-day meeting came from hostile camps: They traveled both from the area under the rule of the Syrian government and from exile. Among them were members of important families and tribes as well as prominent individuals. At this week’s meeting, they spoke without an official mandate, but with the aim of finding a compromise after almost eleven years of civil war.
The initiative sees itself as a supplement to the official negotiations between the government and the opposition mediated by the UN in Geneva, which have been deadlocked for a long time. It’s about bridging the gap between the warring camps, said German-Syrian Naseef Naeem, who moderated the meeting.
It started with peaceful protests
The conflict in Syria began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against which the government used violence. From this the civil war developed. With the help of their allies Russia and Iran, supporters of President Bashar al-Assad now control around two-thirds of the country again. The rest are under the control of Turkish troops, rebels or Kurds.
The beginnings of the secret talks go back around six years. In 2017, after talks that were at times very contentious, the participants agreed on a “Code of Conduct for Syrian Coexistence” with a total of eleven principles. These should eventually serve as the basis for peace. In recent years, the group has met with changing members at different locations.