Nasr al-Hariri Head of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC) opposition group holds documents during a news conference after a meeting during the Intra Syria talks at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland March 24, 2017.

In yet another call for President Bashar al-Assad’s departure, the Syrian opposition said on Monday that the prerequisite was a key aspect of political settlement in the war-ravaged country.

Following a meeting with UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ramzi Izz Eddin Ramzi, the chief negotiator for Syria’s opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Nasr al-Hariri, said: “Today, we continued to discuss the political period and a constitutional declaration that will be in effect in the transition period.”

“All of this is reflected in our documents. Today, we had detailed discussions and I hope they will be continued in the coming days.

“We reiterated at the beginning of the meeting that the key aspect of political process is stepping down of Bashar Assad and all those who took part in the crimes against the Syrian people,” he added.

The Syrian opposition rejects terrorism and is “fed up” with banned militants but they cannot be stopped if Syria continues evicting populations of besieged areas, opposition negotiator Basma Kodmani said on Sunday.

Syria’s government has always cited the fight against terrorism to justify its part in a six-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands, and brands all its opponents and their backers as terrorists and sponsors of terror.