Lavrov: Guaranteeing Security around De-Escalation Zones in Syria Most Important Topic of Astana 7 Meeting

MOSCOW, (ST)- Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov has stressed that the US failure to implement its pledges to separate “opposition” in Syria from Terrorists led the Russian side to decide choosing the partners who respect their commitments and implement them, thus, he said, Astana process on Syria was launched and it was proven successful.

During  a joint press conference with the foreign minister of Suriname in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov said that the most important topics being discussed during the currently-held Astana 7 meeting on Syria is the issue of guaranteeing security around the de-escalation zones.

 He added that the “armed groups” delegation participating in Astana 7 will join the ranks of the “opposition” which will take part in Geneva process. However, he said, “there is notable slowness in the efforts for holding Geneva intra- Syrian talks, which is unacceptable.”

He pointed out that the Geneva process on Syria has faced difficulties because of the radical members in the  Syrian “opposition” delegation who refused to join other opposition platforms, that engaged in dialogue with the Syrian government, and who put unacceptable prerequisites for the dialogue.

Lavrov went on to say that the initiative concerning the Syrian national dialogue conference is a new step to expand the participation in the political settlement of the crisis in Syria in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254 which provides for engaging all spectra of the Syrian people in this process. He pointed out that this initiative doesn’t compete other conferences on settlement, rather it completes them.

 He clarified that any new initiative on the solving the crisis in Syria, including the French suggestion to form a contact group, should be based on what has been achieved so far, not be a step backward.

During his first speech at the UN General Assembly, French President Emanuel Macron called for establishing a contact group on Syria, comprising the five Security Council permanent member states in addition to influential parties in the crisis, in order to launch a new mechanism for a political solution to the crisis in  

Hamda Mustafa