UPDATE - 7 nations urge UN to draft new Syrian constitution

ADDS STATEMENT, OTHER DETAILS

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The U.S. and six other nations called on the United Nations Thursday to convene a committee “as quickly as possible” to begin drafting a new constitution for Syria.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the U.S., France, Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UK urged UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to convene a “credible” and “inclusive” committee to pave the way for UN-supervised free and fair elections.

Emphasizing the need for a political resolution to the seven-year conflict, the group warned against the pursuit of a solution by military means.

“Those who seek a military solution will only succeed in increasing the risk of a dangerous escalation and wider conflagration of the crisis to the region and beyond,” said the statement as published by the U.S. State Department.

The group asked de Mistura to submit a progress report on the formation of the constitutional committee to the UN Security Council by Oct. 31.