UN Special envoy Staffan de Mistura was assigned to the Sochi Congress (photo: VNA/ AFP)

The Congress in Sochi is a joint effort by Russia and Turkey to find a resolution for the Syrian conflict. 1,600 delegates representing all social strata in Syria and observers from Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, China, Egypt, and Britain were invited to the event.

In 2017, negotiations co-organized by Russia, Iran, and Turkey in Astana, Kazakhstan, obtained positive results, including an agreement to reduce the violence in certain areas of Syria.

Opportunities for consensus

9 Syrian peace talks held in Geneva under the sponsorship of the United Nations accomplished little, except for the last one on January 26^th which the Syrian government accepted a Russian proposal for a ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus. Sadly, two days later the ceasefire was broken. The problem was that the negotiations included the Syrian government and the main opposition, but excluded other groups.

At the Sochi conference, all representatives will be allowed to voice their opinions. The conference will select members for a Sochi Congress can revive the UN-sponsored dialogue held in Geneva. Most Syrians see the conference as a rare opportunity to gather all opinions and finally reach a political solution.

Obstacles

The Sochi conference has brought together representatives from the Movement of the Pluralistic Society, the Syrian National Congress, Syria’s Tomorrow Movement, and the National Bloc, but without members of Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian Negotiation Committee. The Kurdish autonomous administration said it will not attend the Congress.

Once, all Syrian opposition groups had a common goal of defeating the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Now each of them wants to affirm their position in the political spectrum.

Syrian people are longing for peace but the path to peace will require goodwill and a great effort from all parties, not just at the conference, but from now on.