Moscow: Tripartite Meeting a Landmark in Preparations for Convening International Conference On Syria

MOSCOW- A tripartite Russian-US-UN meeting held yesterday in Geneva has become a landmark in preparations for holding an international conference on Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, according to the Voice of Russia.

“The tripartite meeting in Geneva has become a landmark in preparations for convening an international conference on Syria. More contacts in this format in the coming period will be aimed at fully coordinating common approaches. It is planned that the next tripartite meeting will be held in Geneva, supposedly on June 25,” the ministry said.

 The participants in the meeting emphasized the necessity of appropriate representation of all “Syrian opposition” groups supported not only inside but also outside Syria, the ministry said.

“As Russia pointed out, there is also the need for states neighboring Syria and other influential regional players, particularly Iran, to take part in the conference, as they can make a significant contribution to overcoming the crisis in Syria and its consequences,” it said.

 The participants in the meeting shared the opinion that the international conference should be carefully planned and should ensure the turning of the crisis in Syria into a political settlement process, it said.

 “Everyone agreed that the main goal of the conference is to start an inter-Syrian dialogue to fully implement the provisions of the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012. Within the framework of a political process, the Syrians themselves should make decisions regarding the development of their state, while external parties would provide them with all possible assistance in this regard,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

A UN-US-Russian meeting was held yesterday to prepare for holding the International conference on Syria on which both the US and Russian foreign ministers agreed in order to find a peaceful settlement to the crisis in Syria.

H. Mustafa