Russia and Morocco constructively cooperate in UN on Syria – Lavrov

“Russia and Morocco constructively cooperate in UN and other organizations on Syria and many other international issues. We are preparing joint documentation package that will strengthen contractual legal framework,” said Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov during the joint discussions with his Moroccan counterpart Saad Addin Al-Osmani in Moscow, Voice of Russia correspondent reports.

Speaking about the situation in Syria, Sergei Lavrov said that “Russia and Morocco constructively cooperate in UN and other organizations on Syria and many other international issues”.

“Initially Russia and the US agreed on holding Geneva-2 talks without any preconditions, but now the opposition claims to observe “the military balance”, Lavrov added.

Saad Addin Al-Osmani replied, that “Thanks to Russia’s constructive stand in UN we managed to get relative stability in Mali”, and added that “Morocco and Russia share their stance on settling of a crisis in Syria”. Al-Osmani stressed that Rabat supports holding the Geneva-2 talks on Syria.

Speaking about holding the Geneva-2 talks on Syria, Sergei Lavrov said, that “Initially Russia and the US agreed on holding Geneva-2 talks without any preconditions, but now the “opposition” claims to observe “the military balance”.

“Russia insists on holding a conference in the parameters that were discussed initially, and the fact that the Western countries are now supplying weapons may mean that they support the existence of pre-conditions. I will ask US Secretary of State, John Kerry, about the emerging issues on the subject during my visit to Brunei next week,” Lavrov said.

“I hope that the joint stand of the Group of Eight at Lough Erne will be observed by the G8 members and by those countries that participate in the settlement of the crisis in Syria,” Lavrov added.

Lavrov overturned the Guardian reports that the Russian embassy in Damascus would close on July 1. “These are rumors and speculations,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov also denied the reports that the Russian base in Tartus is closing. “The embassy and the base are working in routine mode”, Lavrov said.

Speaking about war on terrorism Sergei Lavrov noted that “we are preparing joint memorandum on antiterrorism protection, and probably we will sign it during my visit to Morocco”.

M.D