Preserving Syria’s Unity, Territorial Integrity Very Important Issue: Gatilov
MOSCOW- The issue of preserving Syria’s unity and territorial integrity is undoubtedly very important, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has stressed, pointing out that this issue was provided in the UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
Gatilov told SANA correspondent in Moscow that the Intra-Syrian dialogue in Geneva is due to be held on February 20th. “We haven’t got any other information so far, but some other opinions suggest that the dialogue will not be held on February 20, but on Feb. 23rd,” Gatilov said, confirming that “the new round of talks in Geneva will certainly be held.”
The Russian senior diplomat went on to say that the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura should enjoy enough responsibility and work for having broader representation of “the Syrian opposition” in the talks.
“The [Higher Negotiation Committee] (HNC) is not the only representative of the views of all oppositions, so, to have an inclusive process there is a need to get as wide representation of the Syrian opposition as possible,” he clarified, pointing out that this is also applicable to the Moscow, Cairo and Astana platforms.
Hamda Mustafa