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Middle East and North Africa

Russia’s Lavrov says Moscow will not succumb to provocations targeted at Syria

Situation in Syria necessitates an immediate ceasefire and the start of a political dialogue

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, May 22 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow will not succumb to provocations targeted at Syria and it urges the Syrian government to keep up a consistent political course, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here Wednesday at the talks with visiting Syria’s First Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal al-Miqdad.

Situation in Syria necessitates an immediate ceasefire and the start of a political dialogue, while the news coming from the Syrian opposition is far from encouraging, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“We welcome you to Moscow precisely at this moment, which is so crucial for Syria’s destiny,” Lavrov said addressing members of the Syrian delegation.

“The situation in Syria necessitates an immediate ceasefire and the start of a political dialogue,” he indicated. “That’s the goal of a proposal to start preparations for an international conference that Russia and the U.S. have put forward.”

“The objective of that international event will be to enable the Syrians to agree on their homeland’s future on their own and without any outside interference,” Lavrov said.

“We find this visit to be very important in terms of giving us an opportunity to discuss specific details, which will emerge inevitably in the light of a practical implementation of this idea,” Minister Lavrov said.

“We hope for a constructive reaction on the part of various groupings of the opposition, which are many in number but at this moment the signals coming from there are not reassuring at all,” he said. “The oppositionists haven’t given consent so far for starting negotiations without any preconditions.”

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