Russia, UN Discuss Finding Political Settlement in Syria Based on UNSC Resolution 2254
MOSCOW, (ST)-Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday held talks in Moscow with UN Chief Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen during which the minister reiterated the need to eliminate terrorism in Syria and find a political settlement of the crisis in the country in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254.
“We are establishing dialogue based on mutual confidence between us and the United Nations and on our effective cooperation within Astana formula and the efforts continuously exerted in the light of the results of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi in order to achieve the hoped-for goals in eradicating terrorism in Syria and finding political solution to the crisis based on Security Council Resolution No. 2254,” Lavrov said, according to the Syrian News Agency SANA.
Resolution No. 2254, unanimously adopted by the Security Council in December, 2015, affirms that the Syrians are the ones who should decide the future of their country without any foreign interference and that terrorist organizations must be excluded from any political process.
Lavrov went on to say that leaders of the three guarantor states of Astana process (Russia, Iran and Turkey) will press ahead with their efforts to attain stability and security in Syria.
He pointed out that preparations are underway to hold a new Russia-Iranian-Turkish summit within Astana formula soon.
During their summit in Sochi last February, the guarantor states reiterated their firm commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and to the continuous fight against terrorism in the country.
On his part, Pederson asserted the necessity of joint Russian-UN work to find political settlement in Syria based on Resolution 2254, noting that he is due to visit Syria next week.
Pedersen visited Damascus on April 14th and met Syrian top diplomat Walid al-Moallem. Talks dealt with efforts exerted to achieve progress in the political process to resolve the crisis in Syria.
Hamda Mustafa