Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA-The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for establishing an international front to combat terrorism under the auspices of the United Nations and according to the international legitimacy in parallel with supporting the political settlement of the crisis in Syria and taking into consideration the data of the International Group for Supporting Syria.
During a joint press conference with his Qatar’s counterpart Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah in Moscow on Friday, Lavrov said “we discussed in detail the settlement of the crisis in Syria, especially in light of the escalation of the terrorist threat and the growing of terrorist organizations,” adding “we are interested in peace prevailing in a sovereign and united Syria where all Syrian citizens enjoy equal rights.”
Lavrov pointed out that Western countries are the ones hindering the implementation of the Geneva Communiqué which was issued in June 2012.
“But during the last couple of months we met in Vienna and New York and agreed on steps and measures to revive the Geneva process,” Lavrov said.
“We welcome the positive development in the stances of our Western partners as they are now calling for a speedy start to the talks between the Syrian government and opposition next January, even though they claim that the Syrian government is illegal,” he added.
Lavrov said that the issue of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s participation in any upcoming elections is a Syrian matter.
Lavrov regretted the failure to reach a unified position on who will take part in these talks from the opposition and who is not desirable to participate because he is a terrorist and extremist, stressing that the person in charge of the formation of the Syrian opposition delegation in accordance with the UN Security Council is the UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura.
Lavrov added that de Mistura will be working on forming the delegation depending on the opposition meetings which were held in Moscow, Cairo, Riyadh and other cities and capitals recently which will guarantee a wider participation from the Syrian political powers.
Manar al-Frieh/Manal
