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Putin to discuss with Annan problems of Syrian settlement

Moscow is sure that a major condition is synchronism and equality of demands of the international community to all the sides in the conflict

MOSCOW, July 17 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will have a meeting on Tuesday with the United Nations and the League of Arab States’ special envoy Kofi Annan.

The Kremlin’s press service said that during the meeting the sides "are planned to reiterate Russia's support for the peace plan of Kofi Annan on the politico-diplomatic settlement of the crisis in Syria." The Russian side believes that "the plan is the only viable solution platform for settlement of Syria’s internal problems."

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a meeting with Annan. He stressed that Moscow pays much attention to the contacts with the special envoy.

The Russian position is that the peace plan of six items, offered by Annan, which supposes a politico-diplomatic settlement of the Syrian crisis and which had been confirmed by the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2042, thus having obtained a binding force, is the only real basis for further actions.

Moscow is sure that a major condition is synchronism and equality of demands of the international community to all the sides in the conflict. Thus, ceasefire can be only synchronized, to be followed by simultaneous withdrawal of both government and opposition groups from all communities. Such a provision was included in the UN Security Council’s draft resolutions which Russia had presented in New York. In addition, Moscow intends to seek firmly an extension of the the UN Mission’s mandate.

Russia had stressed repeatedly that it proceeds from the need to create conditions for finding a consensus by the Syrians, without taking sides of any of the parties in the conflict, trying to prevent destabilisation of the Syrian state, its collapse and subsequent degradation of the whole region. The role of external players, according to Lavrov, should be to encourage all and everyone fighting in Syria to meet the requirements of cease-fire and start of a dialogue to set parameters for the political process.

At the same time, Moscow rejects categorically the need for coercive measures for which Western countries are calling by insisting on the priority implementation of resolutions 2042 and 2043 of the UN Security Council. "All the issues related to reforming of the political system and determination of parameters and timing for the transition period should be settled by the Syrians through a dialogue between the government and all opposition groups, exactly like it is proposed by the Annan Plan and the Geneva communique", Lavrov said.

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