"We can note the interest of the committee [of the League of Arab States on relations with Syria] and the consent of the Syrian government to resume the work of the constitutional committee and to accept the invitation of the Sultanate of Oman to host the session of the constitutional committee," Shoukry told a press briefing after the committee's meeting in Cairo earlier in the day.
The LAS committee on relations with Syria is determined to be instrumental in the settlement of the Syrian crisis, the top Egyptian diplomat told his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, during a bilateral meeting.
"During the meeting, Shoukry confirmed the LAS committee's intention to fulfill the mission entrusted to it to assist in resolving the protracted Syrian crisis," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.
The two top diplomats also discussed various aspects of the LAS committee meeting, the ministry said, adding that Mekdad told Shoukry about the latest developments in Syria and the government's efforts to return refugees home, to counter terrorism and drug trafficking as well as to cooperate in security with neighboring countries.
The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011, with various insurgent groups, including terrorist organizations, fighting the Syrian armed forces to oust the government of President Bashar Assad. In January 2018, the Russian city of Sochi hosted a congress of the Syrian National Dialogue, the first such attempt since the beginning of the conflict to bring together an inclusive pool of Syrian political forces. The main outcome of the congress was the decision to create a constitutional committee, which will operate out of Geneva and whose main task will be to prepare for constitutional reform in Syria.
In June 2022, Russia suggested that a new venue should be chosen for meetings of the Syrian constitutional committee, expressing concerns that Switzerland had lost its impartiality and neutral status.
In June 2023, Russia's special presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said he had discussed with UN envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen options for holding Syrian constitutional committee talks in another country.