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Qatari FM comes to Moscow to discuss ways of political settlement in Syria

Russian presidential aide said earlier that the Emir of Qatar asked Putin to receive the foreign minister to discuss new Qatari ideas and considerations in the context of the Syrian settlement
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani  Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

SOCHI, May 6. /TASS/. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Friday his visit to Russia is geared to look for ways to save the process of political settlement in Syria.

"I have arrived here to hand over a message from His Highness the Emir of Qatar. The message is dedicated to the development in the region, with a focus on the crisis in Syria and the recent escalation of violence around Aleppo. My visit to Russia is geared to discuss ways of saving the political process of Syrian settlement," he said after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Qatari Foreign Minister has passed to Russian President Vladimir Putin a message from the Emir of Qatar.

"His Highness wants to convey to you the best wishes. He has sent me to convey his verbal message, relating to the developments in our region, especially in Syria," the Qatari minister told the Russian president.

"We very highly appreciate your prompt reaction," the Qatari foreign minister added.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier on Friday that during the April 19 telephone conversation the Emir of Qatar asked Putin to receive the foreign minister who was going to discuss with the Russian president new Qatari ideas and considerations in the context of the Syrian settlement.

On Thursday, at talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi that lasted for about 2.5 hours, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani pointed to the importance of Russia’s role in maintaining the political settlement process and ceasefire in Syria.

The Kremlin press service reported on April 19 that during the telephone conversation with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held on the initiative of the Qatari side various aspects of the situation in Syria were discussed among other issues, including in the context of the possible coordination of efforts aimed at resolving the crisis in this country.

The Qatari foreign minister said at the meeting with Lavrov on Thursday that Qatar expects that Moscow’s efforts on preserving the US-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria will be successful. "We are carefully watching your efforts over the past days aimed at saving the political process and preserving the ceasefire regime," the Qatari top diplomat said. He expressed the hope that these efforts would finally have a positive effect.

The ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States officially came into effect in Syria on February 27. This does not cover terrorist groups such as Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, both outlawed in Russia, and other groups recognized as terrorist by the United Nations Security Council."