MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. The key goal of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Russia’s Sochi is to ensure efficiency of the United Nations-mediated Geneva process of Syrian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday at a meeting with Nasr al-Hariri, who leads the Syrian unified opposition delegation.
"The key goal of the Sochi congress is to ensure maximum efficiency of the United Nations-brokered General process, to guarantee that dialogue between the Syrians yields the result the Syrian population so badly needs," he said.
According to the Russian top diplomat, attempts of some foreign players to call to question the sincerity of Russia’s efforts towards settlement of the Syrian crisis are counterproductive.
"We think that attempts of some external players to call to question the candor of the efforts we are taking are counterproductive. I think that our Syrian colleagues fully understand the necessity of clearing the process of the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions from outside geopolitical factors," he stressed.
The Syrian National Dialogue Congress is scheduled to be held in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on January 29-30. Along with the Syrian sides, it is expected to be attended by observers, including from the United Nations. In all, the congress is expected to bring together about 1,500 participants. The congress’ key task is to set up a commission on working out Syria’s new constitution.