Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov affirmed on Wednesday that there are no thoughts of postponing the talks between the Syrian government and opposition planned for later this month in Geneva. He noted that Russia and the United States agree on this point.
“We do not have any thoughts of changing the beginning of the talks from January to February,” Lavrov told reporters. “This is the position of Russia and the United States of America,” he said in a press conference following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
“Various dates have been named, but the final decision will be made by the Secretary General of the UN on the advice and recommendations of Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura,” he added.
He stressed that Russia has not backed down from the position of classifying Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham as terrorist organizations. The former, he said, had attacked residential areas in Damascus, including the Russian Embassy, and the latter is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
