Lavrov: one mind about ending of bloodshed

Russia and France have a common goal of helping Syria on its way towards peace, Russia’s foreign chief Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday after a meeting with his French counterpart, LorentFabius. The Russian foreign minister confessed that the two countries didn’t see eye to eye on how this could be achieved, according to Voice of Russia, TASS.

“We had a detailed talk on the situation in the Middle East today, in particular in Syria. We are of one mind about the final goal, which is the end of bloodshed, reconciliation based on the respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity, secular rule and rights of all ethnic minorities,” Mr. Lavrov told the press.

“But there are certain discrepancies between us about the ways to achieve this,” he added.

The Russian foreign affairs veteran also said the parties agreed on the importance of taking chemical weapons away from Syria.

“We are grateful to our French friends for backing the US-Russian initiative, which will be on the agenda of the organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). We are going to adopt the Un General Assembly’s resolution on the OPCW and convene a Geneva-2 conference to put through Geneva-1 agreements. ”

M.D