Russia, US, Regional Powers to Discuss Steps for Settlement in Syria…Putin Hopes Lausanne Meeting Will Be Fruitful

MOSCOW-Russian President Vladimir Putin expects talks on settlement in Syria, due in Lausanne on Saturday, will produce good results.

In a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande “Putin expressed hope that a meeting of the heads of foreign policy agencies of Russia, the US and a number of key countries of the region, scheduled for October 15 in Lausanne, will be efficient from the point of view of real contribution to the settlement in Syria,” the Kremlin press service said, according to Itar Tass.

 “The leaders exchanged views on the situation in Syria, marking the importance of coordinating efforts of the international community in fight against the terrorist threat,” it added.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russia and the US will meet with regional powers to discuss possible steps for Syria crisis settlement on October 15 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“According to the agreement between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, the meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, the US and key regional states to consider possible additional steps to create conditions for the settlement of the crisis in Syria will take place in Lausanne on October 15,” the statements reads, according to RT.

Besides Lavrov and Kerry, the chief diplomats from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran will also take part in the talks.

The Lausanne talks were initially announced by Lavrov, who expressed hope in his interview with CNN that that the meeting “will launch a serious dialogue on the basis of the principles contained in the Russian-American deal, which was broadly welcomed but which unfortunately was not launched.”

On October 3, Washington said it was suspending bilateral cooperation with Moscow, which aimed at sustaining the ceasefire in Syria agreed by the sides on September 9 after months of negotiations.

The ceasefire suffered a major blow on September 17, when US-led coalition planes struck Syrian army position in Deir ez-Zor province, killing 83 soldiers.

Several days later, a humanitarian aid convoy on its way to Aleppo was attacked. Moscow has blamed the terrorists on the ground for the incident, while Washington has accused Damascus and Moscow, saying it was a bombing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the issue of the convoy attack during his speech at an economic forum in Moscow, saying: “It was one of the terrorist groups. And we know that and the Americans know it too, but prefer to take a different position, to falsely accuse Russia.”

The US has failed to separate the “moderate opposition” under its control from the terrorists, as was agreed, and to organize the withdrawal of gunmen from Castello Road to allow humanitarian aid supply to Aleppo.

H.M