Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA – Russian President’s Special Envoy to the Middle East and North Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov announced on Thursday his country’s readiness to host a third round of consultative talks between the Syrian government and the opposition.
In the first round of talks, which was held in January of 2015, the Syrian parties approved “Moscow Principles” guidelines that focus on preserving Syria’s sovereignty and unity, fighting all forms of terrorism, settling the crisis peacefully and politically and rejecting any foreign interference.
In the April round, a unified paper assessing the status quo in Syria item of a Russian-proposed schedule was approved.
Bogdanov said the initiative is that of the Syrian themselves, hoping that Syrians would reach an agreement especially that they are facing a common enemy, which is that of terrorism and extremism.
Moscow does not impose its will on anyone, he said, adding that Russia is ready to hold a third round of consultative talks upon the request of the Syrian government, “yet we need to make more contacts with the representatives of the various opposition groups.”
He called on all the Syrians to be unified to fight the common challenges and the terror threat jeopardizing the national security not just of Syria but of Iraq as well, as it also jeopardizes the whole region, in addition to Russia, the US and whole Europe.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Thursday that the Syrian parties are interested in holding a third round, highlighting the readiness of the Syrian government in particular to move ahead with the dialogue with the opposition.
Reem/H. Said
