Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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New York, SANA-Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the Russian warplanes only target the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria “ISIS” and other terrorist organizations in Syria.
In a press conference in New York Wednesday, Lavrov said that Russia is conducting strikes against the positions of the “ISIS” and other terrorist organizations because if it doesn’t do that the flow of fighters into Syria will increase, indicating that this decision came upon a request by the Syrian Government.
He added that the American partners are worried that the targeted positions are not the positions which should be targeted and some say that there is evidence on this, but “we clarified this issue and clearly explained it.”
He indicated that the US Secretary of State and other members of the UN Security Council welcome the steps taken by Russia, saying “Let’s agree on how to avoid unintentional incidents, since the US coalition’s aviation is also working in the skies over Syria.”
He added that Presidents (Vlademir)Putin and (Barack) Obama agreed that the military of the two countries get in touch and establish channels of communications to avoid any unintended incidents on the ground.
Lavrov affirmed that all the Syrian parties should sit to the negotiation table without any exception to agree on the future basis of their life, adding that some parties are proposing additional conditions to solve the crisis due to foreign pressures.
He pointed out that there is a change in the US stances regarding the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad, saying that if President al-Assad left the political arena in these current circumstances, it would be unrealistic issue.
He said that the Russian President talked about the dangers facing Russia clearly, saying that the main danger lies in the fact that thousands of fighters from the ex-Soviet Union and from Russia might return to Russia later and practice these acts on the Russian territories which is a main danger.
In a separate press conference with his US counterpart, John Kerry, Lavrov said “we wish that Syria will become a civil and secure country in which the rights of all groups are respected.” 
He added “We tackled some steps which exist in some details and we agreed on some steps with the participation of other countries including the UN member states and our work will focus on providing the circumstances and setting a work plan that supports the political process in Syria,” Lavrov noted.
Lavrov considered that his meeting with Kerry and the dialogue which was held between the Russian and US Presidents constitute a good chance to set a good approach regarding the situation in Syria and the region.
He indicated that the contacts with Kerry will continue and the two sides are open to dialogue and communication between them.
For his part, Kerry described his meeting with Lavrov as fruitful, affirming that ISIS terrorist organization should be confronted.
He said that the two sides agreed on the agenda of the coming period as a number of meetings will be held, in addition to establishing channels of communications between the ministries of defense of the both countries.
We agreed on other issues despite of the existence of some differences in viewpoints regarding some issues, but we must adopt several steps that would help us to walk in the right direction, Kerry said.
He clarified that the two sides agreed on doing everything that would lead to an understanding on these issues, and we now see the influx of the refugees to Europe which affects it as we should do anything to make Syria stay a democratic country.
R.J/ Barry
