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Three foreign ministers in Geneva on October 29: Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif, Russia's Sergei Lavrov and Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu. REUTERS / Denis Balibouse

What is to be expected from the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which is meeting today Wednesday 30 October at the United Nations in Geneva? For the first time, envoys from Damascus and the opposition must work together to draft a new constitution. But the foreign powers are watching over the grain.

With our correspondent in Geneva, Jérémie Lanche

A 100% Syrian process proclaims the UN. Except that Russia, Iran, and Turkey are not far away. Present in Geneva yesterday, the three Foreign Ministers had to play the balancing act to hide their influence in the discussions.

At the UN, Sergei Lavrov recalled that if the Syrian regime and its opponents were in Geneva, it was thanks to the efforts of Russia, Iran and Turkey. But the Russian Foreign Minister also insisted that no interference should disrupt the talks. Same speech from his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif:

" In the end, the conclusions of the constitutional committee will have to be accepted by all Syrians. They must be the result of their work, and must not be influenced by foreign powers. "

Yet their very presence in Geneva contradicts this discourse. For some opponents, the constitutional committee is a victory for Damascus and its Russian and Iranian sponsors. As long as we talk about the Constitution, we do not talk about Assad, nor about thousands of detainees, nor even about fighting in the north of the country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolgu even claimed that Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militias was helping Syrian talks: " Our [military] operation in Syria preserves the territorial integrity of Syria because the PKK and the YPG are terrorist and separatist organizations. "

As for the Russian and Iranian forces, they will not leave the territory " as long as the Syrian government does not demand it ", added the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs. A balance of power favorable to Damascus and which will undoubtedly weigh on the work of the constitutional committee.