YEREVAN, November 2. /TASS/. Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house Valentina Matviyenko said on Monday she was confident the format of multilateral Syrian settlement talks will be continued despite whatever differences that might be.
"The very fact of holding such broad multilateral talks involving not only countries of the region but a range of other state and the United Nations is a positive process," she told journalists commenting on the Vienna talks results.
She said she was confident this format would be continued. "I am sure that despite all the difficulties and differences, there is no other option than to try to reach agreement on peace settlement of the situation in Syria," she said. "What is most important is the fact that this process has been finally launched."
A four-party meeting on Syria, involving top diplomats from Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, was held in Vienna on October 23. Discussion of the Syrian settlement was continued at a multilateral meeting also in Vienna on October 30. The meeting was attended by representatives from 19 countries and international organizations. The meeting yielded a document on the principles of the Syrian settlement. The document has not a single word about the fate of President Assad but envisages the establishment of a governing body including representatives of the Syrian authorities and the opposition that would deal with Syria’s new constitution and elections under the supervision of the United Nations.
Another multilateral meeting on Syria is planned to be held within two weeks.