AMMAN, September 11. /TASS/. Russia is confident that Saudi Arabia is sincerely seeking to provide assistance in overcoming the crisis in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Amman after talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.
"We believe that Saudi Arabia is determined to resolve the Syrian crisis and this was confirmed at the very beginning of the Astana process when Russia, Turkey and Iran created this format," Lavrov said.
"When the process began we received Saudi Arabia’s confirmation that it supports this format and is ready to cooperate in creating de-escalation zones and fulfilling other initiatives drawn up in Astana," he said.
Lavrov also noted that now the Astana format is "the most efficient in ending the bloodshed, creating conditions for solving humanitarian issues and establishing a political dialogue."
"Astana has already become a venue where a direct dialogue between the armed opposition and the government takes place. I consider that all those, who back this format, are interested not only in this process’ success but in the Syrian settlement in general so that this would be in line with the international law and the UN Security Council’s resolutions," he stressed.