PARIS, July 6. /TASS/. The elimination of the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat Al-Nusra terror groups outlawed in Russia is the top-priority task in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday following talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
"We exchanged views on Syria, we had a long and detailed conversation. The top-priority task is the elimination of the ISIL (former name of the Islamic State), Jabhat al-Nusra and other terror groups designated as such in the UN Security Council decisions," Lavrov noted.
"Simultaneously, we need to promote solutions to humanitarian problems. It has become a little easier to solve them. The situation continues to be acute, although not as catastrophic as in Yemen," he went on to say. "At the same time, we need to make sure that Syrians agree on their future lives through an inclusive dialogue that would involve all political, ethnic and religious forces." According to the minister, this concerns the constitution, the UN-controlled elections and restoration of economic activity and normal life in the country in general.
"We briefed our counterparts in detail on the results of the talks on Syria in Astana," he said. "We synchronized our approaches towards to the UN-sponsored negotiations in Geneva.".