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Conflict in Syria

Russian diplomat to meet HNC members on March 1

Moscow hopes Geneva talks will help facilitate settling Syrian crisis, a diplomat says

GENEVA, February 28. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov will hold a meeting with representatives of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) on March 1.

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Syrian opposition calls for united delegation without High Negotiations Committee pressure

"Not today," he told TASS when asked if any consultations were expected in the coming hours. "The meeting is due tomorrow."

"There is no need to make any assessments because the negotiation process is underway, meetings continue. Head of the Syrian government delegation, Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari is scheduled to meet with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura later today," Gatilov said. "We should not jump to conclusions because there a lot of important issues that need to be agreed on."

"Let us hope that the parties will succeed in facilitating the process of settling the Syrian crisis during this round of talks," the Russian diplomat added.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov arrived in Geneva on February 27 in order to take part in the high-level session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. At the same time, he has been holding consultations with participants to the intra-Syrian talks. On the day of his arrival, Gatilov held a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday he met with head of the Syrian government delegation, Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari.

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