The pro-government Al-Watan newspaper reported that the UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, will arrive in the Syrian capital, Damascus, today, Wednesday, November 20.

Pedersen’s visit will last several days during which he will hold official meetings to discuss the Syrian Constitutional Committee (SCC) file.

This is considered the second visit of its kind this year, following a previous visit in March, during which he called for the continuation of SCC meetings in Geneva.

The visit comes after Pedersen met yesterday, Tuesday, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to discuss the Syrian file.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stated that the two sides discussed the efforts made to reach a political solution to the “crisis” in Syria.

Safadi stressed the importance of creating the appropriate conditions for the “voluntary return” of Syrian refugees, considering these issues are a regional necessity that Jordan continues to work to achieve. He also emphasized the need to intensify efforts aimed at ending the Syrian “crisis” and addressing all its repercussions, ensuring Syria’s unity, cohesion, and sovereignty while achieving its people’s aspirations and restoring its security, health, and stability.

The number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan exceeds 618,000, according to the latest data published by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in April.

Proposed locations for the SCC meeting

In statements made to the Russian TASS news agency, the special envoy of the Russian president, Alexander Lavrentiev, identified the locations proposed by Moscow for holding meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.

Lavrentiev stated that Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq offered to host the committee meetings, with Egypt also offering its option, Cairo, which remains on the table, and there have been proposals or options to organize future sessions in Riyadh.

He added, “As you know, only one place, Geneva, remains unacceptable to the Russian side; however, for the rest, we are ready to work there. There have been many proposals regarding the location, starting from Oman.”

According to Lavrentiev, there may be an open option with Baghdad, which the Syrian opposition rejected, since Baghdad is an ally of the Syrian regime and is not considered a neutral place, according to the opposition’s perspective.

The Russian official argued that the work of the constitutional committee should resume as soon as possible, but this requires a lot of effort to find an acceptable place for both Damascus and the opposition, and he noted the difficulty of exerting influence over either the regime’s delegation or the opposition’s delegation.

UN meeting… Need for funding

The UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Najat Rushdi, met yesterday, Tuesday, with the working group concerned with humanitarian affairs, emphasizing the need for protection and immediate assistance for Syrians, including thousands fleeing from Lebanon, who, upon their arrival in Syria, are suffering from shock and exhaustion, most of whom are women and children.

Rushdi also called for the protection of humanitarian corridors and an end to violence across Syria, asserting that protecting civilians and infrastructure is extremely urgent.

Cross-border and cross-line aid must continue on a large scale to meet Syria’s needs, and cooperation among all parties is critical to ensure that life-saving aid reaches those in need, as 16.7 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, and food insecurity is alarmingly high, according to Rushdi.

With the drop in temperatures, concerns are mounting about increased displacement, lack of housing, and absence of suitable shelter, stressing the urgent need for flexible funding for vital services. Humanitarian response funding has only reached 27%, and lives are at risk; more must be done for the most vulnerable populations in Syria, as further obstacles cannot be tolerated, according to the Deputy Special Envoy to Syria.