Lavrov affirms need for unifying Syrian opposition to hold dialogue with government

Moscow – Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Monday met with a number of Syrian opposition parties, discussing the need for unifying the Syrian opposition in a constructive manner as to hold effective dialogue with the Syrian government.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Syrian opposition figures expressed appreciation for the efforts exerted by Russia to encourage a peaceful settlement for the crisis in Syria through a Syrian-Syrian dialogue based on Geneva communiqué without foreign interference, SANA reported.

 According to the Ministry, Lavrov briefed the opposition figures on the Russian efforts to implement the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin stipulating for establishing a wide coalition to confront terrorism, comprising the Syrian and Iraqi armies along with the “moderate” Syrian forces and Kurdish force and with the participation of key regional and international countries.

The Syrian opposition figures comprised Hassan Abdul-Azim, Qadri Jamil, Khaled Issa and Namroud Suleiman.