Lavrov: States are equal in their rights

MOSCOW, (ST)- ” the situation around Syria has made the fundamental principle of international law of the non-use of force as one of the most pressing issues,”underscored Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov’s remark came during an interview conducted by “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” and published Thursday.

” However, if we talk about a universal and fundamental principle of international law like the non-use of force, it is hard not to agree that the situation around Syria has made this topic acutely topical again,”added Lavrov.

” States are equal in their rights, and therefore their consent is required to create any control or enforcement mechanism in respect of actions they carry out, ” Lavrov stressed.

Earlier, Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov and UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman stressed, during their talks in Moscow, on the necessity of focusing on transferring the crisis in Syria into a political track through an international conference.

R.S