Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA-Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Wednesday that those who insist to connect between the departure of President Bashar al-Assad and the formation of an international coalition against terrorism are contributing indirectly to maintaining the favorable conditions for the expansion of ISIS.
“If the issue of President al-Assad continues to be artificially clung onto as an obstacle to creating an actual universal anti-terrorist coalition, then those who are insisting on this, and I cannot assess this any differently, will indirectly maintain the conditions that allow ISIS to continue expanding,” Lavrov said during an interview with Italian news agencies.
He added that the stance of the West towards the issue of President al-Assad has undergone some modifications as Russia’s partners are no longer demanding his immediate departure and not ruling out his participation in the political process, but “they still insist on setting a date for his departure.”
Lavrov, Kerry discuss crisis in Syria
In a relevant context, Lavrov called for implementing resolutions adopted at Vienna meeting about the mechanism of forming the delegation of the Syrian opposition which stipulated forming a national opposition delegation to take part in negotiations with the Syrian government under UN umbrella.
“Lavrov discussed with his US counterpart John Kerry, in a telephone call, the Syrian file including the possibility of holding a new session for the International Group on Supporting Syria,” Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It added that Lavrov drew the attention of Kerry on the need for carrying out the resolutions of the Group which were taken on November 14th.
The Ministry pointed out that Lavrov and Kerry agreed on the importance of working to launch a political process in Syria through maintaining a “compromise” among all participants in the International Group.
Manar al-Frieh/Manal/ Mazen
