Lavrov to de Mistura: Tripartite aggression has set back any political negotiations to end crisis in Syria

Moscow – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that the US-French-British aggression against Syria has harmed Geneva talks and made the mission of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura more difficult.

Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Moscow on Friday that the three countries haven’t just attacked Syrian positions on April 14; they also attacked the Geneva process, as this aggressive act has affected badly the solution process including the mission being carried out by the Special Envoy to Syria under the guidance of the Secretary-General of the UN, SANA reported.

For his part, de Mistura expressed hope that the Sochi platform will continue to support the Syrian dialogue, stressing that Astana talks are essential too, but they hope that Sochi will be able to continue its work.

He also went to say that the priority in Syria now is the need to reduce tension, pointing out that the current situation poses danger to peace and security

During a similar meeting with de Mistura, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu also stressed that the aggression did not promote stability in Syria and badly influenced on settling the crisis.

He also noted that “fruitful steps were made to promote peace in the country, adding “it is to be stressed that missile strikes against Syria were delivered at the moment when situation normalization was inevitable.”

Earlier, Lavrov discussed during a phone call with his German counterpart Heiko Maas the situation in Syria and the role that can be played in supporting the political settlement in the country.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that both sides exchanged views on the urgent international issues, including coordination between Moscow and Berlin to support the process of political settlement for crisis in Syria in accordance with UN resolution No. 2254, taking into account the results of the Astana talks and the Syrian national dialogue congress in Sochi.