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Lavrov and Tillerson discuss Syria, Ukraine and North Korea

The Russian and US top diplomats agree that North Korea must strictly abide by the United Nations Security Council resolutions

© Alexander Scherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Issues related to the situation in Syria, Ukraine and North Korea, and around Russian media and diplomats in the United States were in focus of a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The two diplomats met on the sidelines of a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna.

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"The sides discussed further steps to put an end to the civil conflict in Syria via establishing a sustainable negotiating process involving all Syrian political forces, including within the Geneva process and in the format of the forthcoming National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, with concurrent completion of the defeat of international terrorist groups," the ministry said.

"When the sided discussed the situation in eastern Ukraine, the Russian side noted that there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements of February 12, 2015 and stressed the necessity of their strict implementation by the Kiev authorities."

"The Russian and US top diplomats also expressed common opinion that North Korea must strictly abide by the United Nations Security Council resolutions," the ministry said.

Russia is ready to help North Korea and the United States establish direct dialogue on security guarantees for Pyongyang, according to Sergey Lavrov:

"We know that North Korea wants first of all to speak with the United States about its security guarantees. We are ready to support it. We are ready to help promote such talks," he stressed.

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